Day 102/365 (October 27, 2014)

It was a self imposed busy day. After i left work (later than I meant to) i headed to the gym for a tiny bit, then Trader Joe's and came home and spent the rest of the night baking/doing dishes, dying a t-shirt and making a goodbye card for Kyle Dean.

Baking is something that helps me work through sadness and is very calming and i went off the deepend... I also ate WAY MORE than i should have, sugar overload is an understatement! I made pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies with white chocolate chips and pumpkin oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips. both were so moist and tasty! I also made pumpkin flavored marshmallows for an idea i had and they needed to sit out overnight. I made a bunch of dishes through this process so there was that too. Ally asked if I could dye her shirt to be the Pippin color for her Halloween costume since she didn't have a place to do it at school... I squeezed that in and everything said that the color it looks like when it first comes out will be darker when than when it has had time to set and be washed... thankfully that was true because I was freaked when I saw how dark it looked! it was pretty but the perfectionist in me was like I messed up. Then I made a goodbye card for Kyle Dean... My artistic skills are lacking but i thought making my card light purple with red and gold glitter was clever since there is a song lyric that says "crimson, gold, and lavender"

Day 101/365 (October 26, 2014)

I was only away one night but both Fred and Charlie behaved like I had been gone ages and I was flanked! In the picture of them kissing, I am underneath him, you can barely see me.

After I woke up I unpacked and got ready for training, and then rushed home for quick lunch and shower before meeting Paula. We went to see Pippin, It was nice to sit in the back of the orchestra and see the whole show and not have to strain my neck! She really enjoyed it and then after she wanted to get a snack so I took her to Schmacakrys... I know i know but it was the experience and fit what she was looking for. I didn't mean to eat a cookie but I did! then we wandered to my street and ran into the stupid street fair which excited her and we found a dress for Winnie through long distance shopping... then came back to the apartment for a while to chat more. She felt pretty hip. I enjoy the rare times she comes into the city and it is just us.

Then Sasha and I went out for a drink to chat Scandal and just have fun out, that was ncie and it had been a while since we did that. Then we came home to watch Scandal but it didn't end up recording,,, fail! I went out to see Darren Bluestone perform his music at NWS. It was interesting to say the least.

Day 100/365 (October 25, 2014)

Another day where i spent the majority of it feeling overwhelmed and stressed but it was all for a good reason! I spent my morning playing with Tessa and Colson, making a whole bunch of frosting, and filling/crumb coating the cakes. Then i went to Tessa's soccer game for a while. Then hurried to get my mom who doesn't know the meaning of "in a hurry." When I finally got back to Becky's I made the last bit of frosting and then did the actual frosting coating. Becky's kitchen aide is great because it is a larger capacity so I was able to make 3 batches of frosting at once, and probably could have done u to 5! However it doesn't tilt up so it was difficult to scrape the sides and was driving me batty!

Mike then came and used a toothpick to draw a tractor on the cake and I made the different colors, and was so pleased the black actually came out black! Then I traced the tractor and stacked the cakes and piped the border. Then began picking up after myself since I made a mess! Mike had to write on the cake since Sasha was too far away.

The party itself was very nice and t was good to see everyone that showed up. There were so many cute little kids there that enjoyed my cake... which I ended up having way too much of, sugar overload! I was also "surprised" with a cake of my own. I saw it before they brought it out but i acted surprised for them and it was very sweet since they never see me on my birthday. Samantha and Mike came with baby Xavier. He is such a cutie but was asleep most of the party which they didn't want. It was funny watching them try to keep him awake but that was a failure... until they went to leave and then he was wide awake!

After the party was over I stuck around for a bit and then sadly had to leave. I am always so conflicted because MA stresses and overwhelms me but when it is time to eave it is always so hard especially when I am with Becky and her kids. I had to hold back tears while driving. Luckily I made great time and when I got home i actually parallel parked the car in front of the apartment... first time ever! After everything was unloaded it took me 22 minutes to drive the car the one block to park it thanks to city traffic!

Day 99/365 (October 24, 2014)

I got a much later start than I was expecting while heading out to MA, but thankfully there was only one spot where i voided major traffic and was able to take a different road so I had smooth sailing. I love singing at the top of my lungs when alone in the car! Please note how much stuff i packed to go away for one night! In my defense a great deal of it was my baking stuff for cake making/decorating.

Let me tell you Colson is one of the most energetic 2 year old boys I have ever met. He wanted me to follow him around and sit everywhere and kept grabbing my hand and melting my heart. After a couple hours I had just enough time to say hi to Tessa before having to go take my mother speed shopping because her ride fell through. The last thing I needed to add to my day was that but I had to because she needed stuff for the party. I made us do shopping very fats and attempted to upgrade my phone but of course they were sold out for the day so I failed! I also found out my Nana was placed in a nursing home that morning since she is becoming very difficult to care for because she is getting very violent, and of course that means there is much family drama.

Then I got back to Becky's and had a sleepover with Tessa that involved her helping me bake the cakes for Colson's party and playing Life on my phone. I even had some time to chat with Becky which was nice since I do miss her lots, but it was nice having a few moments to myself before going to bed to unwind since i was extremely strssed and overwhelmed today

Day 98/365 (October 23, 2014)

It was a cold and rainy day but I had to rush Pippin. Thankfully the line wasn't too crazy and they let us get more than one rush ticket. I got two because Karen was coming with (although it ended up being Hope instead). then I headed home to change and go off to work. After work I headed home for a tiny bit then went up to my Jenny appointment where I was shocked to find out I had lost 1.4 pounds during the week despite my over sugar consumption! Then I came home and put everything away/showered before heading downtown to see Rachel Potter play an acoustic set. It was nice to say a quick hello and I ran into Marty T. and Marissa. The three of them just put a smile on my face whenever I see them, and I had been in a bad mood all day then this was the turning point. Then I went back home for a quick bite to eat before heading out to see Pippin with Hope.

It was a great show per usual and then after the show KDM took me backstage for a photo op. He played my photographer and helped place me for my photo ops, then I helped someone else with their photo ops and they returned the favor so KDM and I could take a picture together. I felt bad though because we were interrupting a talk back happening while I was posing... oopsie! I even got a picture onstage with Lucie Arnaz! Then back home to do some last minute packing before my MA Trip

Day 97/365 (October 22, 2014)

I woke up to Fred cuddled on my shoulder/head and Charlie on my feet. It was a very cold and rainy day! I finally reached a point where I decided it is time to start trying to sell my baked goods. I need a name! I put the word out to Marty T and Ellyn and both have already helped a bunch! I have my first official order and also got a whole bunch of ideas. I am a little excited/nervous at the thought of it, but I know I need to come up with a more formalized plan to actually be able to promote myself.

After work I headed to the gym and then went down to the cake store and michael's. I am helping someone with their Halloween costume so I went with her to go pick up fabric dye and a t-shirt... fingers crossed I am successful! While I was out I was in Old Navy in Chelsea and on the escalator I thought about "just kidding" as I usually do on escalators and to my complete surprise i looked up and in lights it said "Just Kidding" i have no idea why but I died of laughter. I couldn't get the picture to take quick enough as I went up so sorry about cutting off the G! Walked around a bunch despite the yucky weather and then I went home. I was quite productive! I did a whole bunch of laundry, reorganized my up high storage and brought stuff down i will be needing shortly, changed the boys' litter boxes, dishes, and began packing for my quick trip to MA. Now tomorrow I will only have to organize a few more things.

I am calling it an early night since I am rushing Pippin tomorrow!

PS the cake store had sparklers for cakes.... I WANT!

Day 96/365 (October 21, 2014)

I decided to rush Pippin since KDM was back and he leaves next week. It wasn't as cold as I was expecting so that was nice! The lady who works as a porter there was actually super nice and friendly to me for the first time. I was shocked but very pleased. After rush I went home to drop off stuff and headed to work for a while. I then went to the gym where I was not as successful as yesterday, but at least it was something. it could be because I forgot to put on sneakers and was in my rain boots or the macaron that I ate that I shouldn't have!

After I came home and delivered my macarons to people (ate another) and then watched some DVR TV before getting ready for Pippin. On the way to the show I popped into Les Miz to give Penski her macarons and chatted with her for about 15 minutes before finally going into my show. It was good to see KDM back... man oh man will i miss him! The ensemble of the show truly are amazing and the way they can split tracks so easily is incredible! The new guy replacing Orion wasn't quite ready so he was only onstage for a few acrobat type things, and the other actors were giving him stage direction as he was doing things, i saw one say "lift up the ball" to him. He did pretty good for the most part, but they had to do a different second act opener with two of the others and they took out the fire juggling at the end of the show. KDM didn't make it up on the shoulders during Extraordinary so it was fun to see how he handled that and then the front somersault he did. At the stage door I saw David Tutera go inside and I was all excited and later when he came out I asked for a picture since he is so freaking awesome! I think he was excited about the idea since this isn't the  type of crowd that might recognize him because he has a gigantic smile and well that made my night LOL! It's funny how I pass people all the time on the streets that most people would care about like Orlando Bloom or Rupert Grint or whatever and I am not phased but I was like OMG ITS DAVID TUTERA!!!!

Then i came home and got stuff ready for the morning before going to bed

Day 95/365 (October 20, 2014)

So cold today, and I am starting to stress about my quick trip to MA the end of the week! After work I went to the gym and I am so proud of myself, i was on the elliptical for 35 minutes and did 4.77 miles! Then i did some Fairway and Trader Joe's shopping before coming home. I forgot my anytime bar this morning and that caused much hunger throughout the day!

When I got home after a bit I decided I wanted to try making pumpkin spice macarons with a browned buttercream filling as a test for the Halloween party I am going to next week. They turned out pretty freaking amazing! the recipe left out some detail I know from the one other time I made them so I sort of took my chances. The first batch had a bunch come out cracked like a snickerdoodle since I guess I didn't let them sit out long enough but the next batch came out perfect, and for the most part they are all the same size thanks to the stencil i made ages ago! The frosting though i think is the real star... so good, it took all I had not to squeeze the leftovers in my mouth! I also made some cute gift boxes  from zebra cardstock for them to give away!

Day 94/365 (October 19, 2014)

I wasn;t sure if I should see Pippin or not while KDM was on vacation since I should be careful with my finances but I really like the show and had heard good things about his understudy Mike Schwitter so I figured why not. It was so cold out, but I made it through the wait and got my favorite seat then I went home and ended up napping a tiny bit.

Mike was really very good as Pippin. Which considering who he was filling in for is not a compliment I would give sightly. If he was the one replacing KDM I wouldn't be sad. He only had a few minor moments where he was singing too quietly, but he made some really great acting choices. Orion was supposed to be gone but they needed him one more week so today turned out to really really really be his last show (kind of like Ravi as Abe). To everyone's surprise for the final part of the show when he came running out with the flame jugglers he had put his hair in a very impressive chunky spiky Mohawk and everyone onstage had to work extra hard not to laugh. He also did some extra fun stuff on the ball during curtain call song.

After the show I met up with Ben and his friend Ashley since they had seen it as well and we ended up going to Juniors. Katherine came to meet up with us. It was lovely chatting and then we got pumpkin cheesecake to share... oops!

Finally went home and was so sleepy so I didn't do much but I did try to set up the new modem TWC delivered and failed miserably, I had just given up hope when Sasha came home and a friend of hers saw and offered to help. Finally an hour later with his help and a call to TWC we were successful!

Day 93/365 (October 18, 2014)

I woke up and ate some breakfast then walked down to Washington Square Park to do "Fit Ballet" with Sasha and Karen.It was a good walk and the Fit Ballet was a good class but I didn't like doing it outside for all to see and it was muddy. Plus I don't think I like the group thing like that because I do the same type of stuff with Travis but all by myself so we can go at my own pace which was faster than the other 2. I might do it with them again if it is inside somewhere every once in a while. Then I walked back up town... so much walking today! It was beautiful out so it felt good.

When I got home Lola was already there! We played hide and seek for a while and I actually found a place to hide that took her a bit of time to find me!

While I was getting ready this morning Harper's mom asked if I could watch her for the day, so I said yes and got ready for her at 2. I left Lola and gang to walk up to Columbus Circle to pick her up. Since she is usually hungry and likes to eat fruit we popped into Whole Foods to have things on hand. She walked the whole way back and we were chatting up a storm. A couple strangers stopped to tell me how adorable it was that were talking about everyday things since many people don't know how to talk to little kids. When we got home Lola and Harper were very excited to see each other. They played British fairies for a while, complete with British accents, and then did some painting. At one point Harper got very quiet so I pulled her aside to see if she was okay and she said she just wanted some quiet time with me to do puzzles and if we could tell Lola she couldn't play with us. I told her we could do some puzzles but if Lola saw us we couldn't tell her that because that wouldn't be very nice but that Lola was busy painting so we could start doing puzzles. Luckily Lola didn't notice Harper had disappeared until she was getting ready to leave so that potential catastrophe was avoided since I could never say no to Lola for wanting to play with me, but understood that Harper needed some quiet time because she is much more reserved than Lola and as a kid i was a mix of both of them so i could either be very quiet or very animated. After Lola left we did more puzzles and she wanted to paint a mask but it wasn't mine so i used it to create one as a stencil and let her paint that... she was very pleased with it! I should have taken a before picture because I did almost a perfect job of replicating the design on it before it got painted over! Once she left for the night at like 8:45 I cleaned up for the mess we made during the day and went to bed!

Day 92/365 (October 17, 2014)

What a day! I woke up and went to my Jenny appointment, then Trader Joe's before getting home and eating breakfast. Then I went to work for a while. I popped out of the office for a bit to go to a book signing at Barnes and Noble for the Orange is the New Black cookbook because Uzo was going to be there, and Taylor Schilling. It was nice to see Uzo again and she seemed pleased to see me and complimented me on how good I looked told Taylor that "Tamra was one of our G=spellers" and asked how much weight I had lost. Come back to Broadway Uzo!

After I went to a training session with Travis and then rushed home to get cleaned up and have dinner and head right back out! I was heading out to New Jersey with Ally because she wanted t go see something called Liberty Live! and was uncertain about going out by herself to an unknown area in the dark. I had zero interest in going and had no idea what it was about nor did I care to see it, but I was free and felt I should go with her to not worry. I am so glad I did! Despite some technical issues getting there like getting off at the wrong bus stop, then taking an expensive cab, then having to run on the Kean University campus to just barely make it on time, it was a good night. The show wasn't too much more than an hour and it was about Alexander Hamilton and it was actually pretty funny.. I wasn't bored at all and snorted a few times! There was a reception after which was good because we had so much time to kill before our next bus so I had some ice cream, apple crisp, and champagne while she got to speak with one of her people. Someone there thought I was her mother though and that WAS NOT pleasing! Dude I don't look old enough to be a mother of someone that age!

Then we headed out to find our bus stop an while on a corner trying to decide which way to turn a car driving past went PSST real loud and startled us... stupid college boys! We finally found our way but still had about an hour before the bus was to come and there was a diner across the street so we went there to kill some time. My intent was to only get water but then a woman at the table beside us had this delivered to her and wen i saw it i teared up I was so excited by it. I still said no to ordering it but Ally did and then once it was in front of me I decided I didn't care and dove right into the waffle/ice cream/whipped cream/jimmied creation of wonderment and happiness. Um it was so cheap too!

I still think about eating it, so good!Then the bus came and home we went!

Day 91/365 (October 16, 2014)

I went to work and then I went to the gym and then I came home and was lay on the couch for a bit. I planned on lottoing Kinky Boots but almost missed it because I didn't realize it was a 7 pm curtain until super close to pull time. I met a very nice girl and we were lotto buddies and I won! so then I went home, had dinner, and got cleaned up before heading out to the show.

The lotto seats really are terrible in the boxes! I missed a whole part of the stage for the first act, luckily I was able to move during intermission! When I got to my original seat the girl's sister was there and she gave me a note from her and she explained she gave the ticket to her sister since she was moving and hoped I didn't mind. It was just a really nice thing, and made my night a bit better! Jake was really very god as Charlie, though it took him until Everybody Say Yeah to let go of some of his nerves but overall he gave a solid performance and I would see it again. I do however wish Billy Porter would just leave already. His voice is so tired and busted and hurts to hard him struggle to hit the notes, yet the audience eats him up and I am like why? Saw Ellyn after for a brief moment and she gave me a in jest hard time about coming to see Jake as Charlie and not her as Lauren... oops! I did see her months ago though!

Day 90/365 (October 15, 2014)

Quick trip to work, then off to the gym to pay for my over cake eating yesterday... but it was worth it!  Spent the night t home cuddling with the boys (Fred and Charlie). The last picture is Fred's reaction to the nosie I made when I found out Hunter Parrish was going to be on The Following this coming season!

Day 89/365 (October 14, 2014)

Today was not a good day for health, but it was a good day for my taste buds!

Today at work we made the office look extra nice because we had clients coming into visit and I even got all dressed up! Then as I was about to leave I found out that the Cake Boss Cafe was giving out free Broadway themed cupcakes (Pippin) with Carly Hughes in the store... I didn't know much more about it but figured free cupcakes is always fun and they were Pippin themed! I looked up more info and it turns out there were other shows/people too like Cinderella. I went to go get the cupcake just to see what it looked like but while I was there it smelled so good and they all looked so good... I got a Cinderella since it was vanilla and that glass slipper called to me and I ate every last crumb! The cupcake was actually very good and moist and the buttercream was the light and fluffy one my mom used to make.... yummy!

Then i was home and sadly Raymond never showed, but I did make more Spaghetti squash.... it needs nothing straight up yum on its own! Charlie was extra needy today and anytime I was on the couch he was on top of me, my back sweater turned orange from fur! Then I headed out to the 31 party I was going to. The apartment building it was at was probably the nicest I have seen in the city or ever. I walked in and exclaimed Oh my god! The party was done up on the roof and the view of the city was spectacular! The roof deck had a grass nook and a place where they show movies during the summer and tons of places to lounge and sit and an outdoor kitchen that could be used. amazing! The party itself was enjoyable, they have so many cool products, I wish i could have bought some stuff but sadly with finances the way they are that is not in the cards. Then finally cut into the cake.... gah it was so delicious and I knew I shouldn't but i had a slice... okay two slices BUT each was the size of half a normal slice so it totaled one together. I also learned more about how to better my fondant tactics once i do it again from this... so it was research!