Whoop dee do, I'm 32

I'm not carded anymore when I buy alcohol. I have no problem renting a car. And I don't qualify for MTV's "Real World" anymore. As of yesterday, I'm now 32 -- somewhere between a 20-something trying to find myself and a 40-year-old making the climb down that dreaded hill. While the celebrations kicked off earlier this week when we were in KC, Craig helped me officially celebrate the day by doing some of my favorite things:

1. Working out. While this really is nowhere near one of my favorite things, I accomplished one of my birthday wishes while running a few miles around the track ... Craig didn't pass me! Yes, I might've been going a little faster than usual, but I also strategically planned my start so that Craig would have a good full lap before he could catch up to me. So what if I only ran 2 miles and Craig was saving his endurance for 10. Eat my dust.

2. Brunch at Piztros. After burning off all those calories, we refueled at Piztros for brunch. French toast, gourmet pizzas, chocolate fountain and made-to-order crepes. Does it get any better?

3. Movie. Jennifer Garner. Awesome soundtrack. Yep, I'm talking about "Juno." The movie was artistic, the dialogue was witty, and the soundtrack is soon to be on my iPod. See it as soon as you can.

4. Shopping. I ditched Craig and did a little shopping in search of some cruise wear. I was also reminded why I rarely go to the mall.

5. More food: dinner at Luciano's. There's this quaint little Italian restaurant in Mulvane (south Rock Road) that we can't wait to take some out-of-town guests to when they visit.

6. Run for the Border. Borders, that is. What else do two old fuddy-duddies do when they have gift cards to burn?

7. Let there be cake. Our last stop of the night was at Dillons where we found a cute little two-serving birthday cake (candle included!). I'm so old.

So it may not have been a crazy day, but it was everything this 32-year-old (and my waistline) could handle. Thanks to all for the e-cards, mailed cards and phone calls with serenading. And thanks to Craig for putting up with the old lady another year.

Carrie

sew and tell: butterfly bag

Almost 12 months with my sewing machine and I finally have something worth showing for it. Here's a bag I made for Kailey for Christmas. I lucked out and found fabric that not only was green (her favorite color) but also had butterflies (her favorite insect). I used the butterfly print for the outside of the bag and the solid green for the inside of the bag. As for the handles and inside pocket, I found this cute polka dot print that had the same pastel colors in the butterfly print. To top it off, I filled the bag with what every six-year-old should have: Hello Kitty lip gloss, green butterfly earrings, and a butterfly puzzle. I think I might have gone overkill on the green/butterfly theme, but the squeals we heard on the phone when Kailey opened it tells me we did OK.

Carrie

That's the way the cookie crumbles

For the past four years, I've attended a friend's holiday cookie swap. It's a great time to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and go home with a dozen or so new cookies to share with Craig. At least that's what I thought the first year. Since then, I've wised up. All I care about is winning. Forget the small talk, hot apple cider and holiday happiness, I want the prize! And I don't care what category it's for: best tasting, most unique, best decorated. I'll take any of them. Really, just one of them would be great. You should see these prizes. They're always fancy packages filled with holiday goodies like a nice plate for cookies, warm fuzzy holiday socks, yummy scented candles, flavored hot cocoa, etc. At least that's what it looks like from the loser's perspective. Every year, I think I have a winner. Not even Martha could save me with her "year's best" pumpkin cookie two years ago. But this year, I thought I had it. I thought I had one of the more unique ideas: a chocolate turtle cookie. We spent hours baking the cookies, melting the caramels, drizzling the caramel, placing the pecan halves just right, melting the chocolate, and strategically placing the chocolate so that it wouldn't touch the pecan halves. But there I was Saturday, leaving with only my hands full of 3 dozen rejects and a few samples of the other cookies to remind me that I was, for the third year in a row, a cookie swap loser.

Carrie

P.S. If you think you have a winning recipe, send it my way.

Negligent

For anyone actually reading this, sorry we haven't posted anything for a while. Here's what you've missed (maybe "missed" isn't the right choice of words).

• After a lot of debate we decided to go for a real Christmas tree this year, so in one of our recent trips to Home Depot (see below), we tossed one into our NASCAR-shaped cart and called it good. Once we finally got it into the house and all set up, we discovered that it's probably the best looking tree we've ever had—we just hope it stays that way, considering that we share our home with a beaver. (Luka has a thing for bark—ironic.) So far, so good, although we are down one tastey looking reindeer ornament

• Despite my loudly expressed objections, Carrie decided that last week was a great time to remodel the final room in our house. Lucky for her, it turned out pretty good, but it was touch and go for a little while last night as we tried to hang cabinets (somewhere Bob Vila was laughing his smug little ass off). That said, we were pretty relieved to wake up this morning and find them still firmly attached to the wall, granted with all of the extra holes I drilled into that last cabinet, its overall weight had been reduced to the point that it could have been held up by thumb tacks.

• One final note on the our home renovations. After I sent Carrie back to Home Depot last night to pick up some "shims," I had the mental image of her running around the store looking for some dude that looks kind of like a lady—or vice versa. Imagine my disappointment when she just came home with a couple pieces of wood.

• With the writer's strike still lingering on, Carrie and I have been enjoying lost episodes of "Mr. Belvedere" and are really looking forward to this week's "Battle of the Network Stars" in which Ma'am from "Webster" will be taking on Meredith Baxter Birney in the 40-yard dash.

• Lastly, Carrie has wisely opted out of the Houston half marathon for the more reasonable 5K, I on the other hand am spending the time I don't have a paint brush in my hand glued to the treadmill. Winter sucks.

Craig

Changing of the collar

After a long and extensive search for a new collar to grace Zoe's neck, we are pleased to announce that we have finally picked a winner. It wasn't easy replacing the collar she's been wearing the last 2 1/2 years. The ribbon is fraying and the colors are fading, but it was extra special for two reasons: 1. Craig picked it up in San Diego when he and his brother (Curt) trekked out there by car for some sun and surf. And 2., the colors and design were the perfect compliment to Zoe's girl-like qualities. But we've done it. We've found a replacement. We've also discovered a new place to shop online for the pups -- they even include fun and tasty dog treats as a bonus inside their packages. Check out Coco and Tana Doggie Couture at www.cocoandtana.com.

Carrie

Evil genius

For those of you who don't know, parking on the Wichita State campus has always been a bit of an adventure. It's like one giant version of an elementary school "cake walk," you just circle round and round in hopes that when the music stops you've got a spot. Fortunately, for most of the time I've been at WSU, I've been able to avoid this little game due to the fact that my office was slightly off campus and its lot was really just a point of last resort (before students actually made it to the point that they're ready to check out my lot, they had already decided to screw it and go get a danish). Then August came and I moved my entire staff to some better digs on campus, thus beginning our perpetual "fun night" … minus the homemade cake.

During my nearly daily circling of the lot, I was frequently perplexed by a few prime spots that were blocked off by little orange cones. Never seeing the cones from a distance, it always looked like you were about to hit the parking lot jackpot, only to be forced to make another lap hoping you'd see a student you could stalk on their way to their car.

I had always thought this was some manifestation of a WU-cop power trip—until yesterday.

After finally locating a spot, I was on my way to my office when, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a little red Ford Fiesta rolling toward my coned mecca. Moments later, a small Asian woman hopped out of the passenger seat and scurried over to pick up the cones while her accomplice calmly pulled the fore-mentioned Ford Fiesta into place.

I just stood their in disbelief, not sure if I was upset or just pissed that I didn't think of it first.

After sharing the story with the rest of the office, I found out that someone else had witnessed the exact same thing and come to find out that it's the work of some cleaning crew street gang.

So, the question becomes, do I look the other way, or simply roll over the cones the next time I see them? On the one hand, I would be accepting the presence of the cones and thus condoning the gang's actions, on the other hand there's a good chance I'll be found a few days later laying face down in a pool of 409.

Option three?

Bring my own damn cones. And live to see another day.

Craig