–took me to see Eddie Izzard (in concert?) It isn’t a concert when it is a comedian is it? It is a theatrical performance, right? Well, anyhoo, we LOVE Eddie Izzard. He is the funniest mo’fo’ on the planet as far as I’m concerned, I laughed so hard I almost wet myself last night.

And he looked like this:

… but less blurry and stuff. Yeah.

We saw this performance at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre (ooh, spelled with an “re” I wonder if things there are colourful too since we’re being all fancy pants and using Briticisms and all.) It is located on Cobb Galleria Parkway (not to be confused with Cobb Parkway, which is close, but not the same thing. Sheesh, you would think they could come up with a better road name, right? It is a really beautiful theater, new, big but not too big. There was a minor mishap with ushers sending us to the wrong side of the theater (odds and evens are on opposite ends.) Our seats were good but there didn’t seem to be a bad seat in the house. Eddie performed for like, 2 1/2 hours- just talking and being funny for over two hours! Amazing bloke that one is, talking about bollocks and being genuinely entertaining. (I wish I were British, to say things like bloke, bollocks and shag all the time, it would be sweet!) Anyways, blah, blah, great show, great new venue (but it was a tad chilly, my own fault for not bringing a wrap) good times!

Thanks honey! Nobody do a birthday like you do! Now birthday month 2008 is officially closed.

UPDATE:

Just for you, Margaret:

This was me on night of said date. And actually this was Jeff:

You can tell that it is him by the telephone surgically attached to his ear lobe. The photo at the top of the post was taken of him in his funny, magic man clothes. He has the BEST tshirt collection ever!

Fwiends. We went to Ichiban on Friday night, sushi and martinis followed by Sex and the City, it doesn’t get much better than that. I loves my girls (aren’t they pretty?) we don’t get to do this very often so it made for an even more special evening.

So, I think that wraps things up. Crap, no, it doesn’t, yesterday being Father’s Day, I also had lunch with my Dad, followed by ice cream movie time, followed by concert, where IS my brain today, really?

Good times, thank you to everyone that made 31 a very good year indeed!

Which brings me to the point of this post. In addition to Jeff’s birthday party this Sunday, I have something so fun planned for us on Saturday. Now, I haven’t ever tried to surprise Jeff, I can’t, I have secret face and he is a pretty smart guy, but I think he will be surprised. Of course he knows we are doing something, his schedule is so crazy I had to make sure he would block out the time for me so I could buy tickets… (I LOVE tickets!!!) And this thing is going to be so much fun! I can’t wait to spend the day with him on Saturday in celebration of his actual birthday- just the two of us. AND I got him an ultracool present, I’m just a titter with happy secret birthdayness.

Yay.

Oh, AND I’m going to try and make this this week, or at least my own version of it for the par-tay.

Let me tell you, Rachel outdid herself on this party. Little brother is going into the Navy this week and will be missing all sorts of holidays, so she had Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s represented Saturday night. We all got all fancied up and took some photos, it was a great send off. And since I behaved myself so well the night before, I took this opportunity to eat very little and imbibe the entirety of a bottle of wine. I was pretty pickled when we got home and by all accounts I didn’t make an ass of myself- just giggly- so that is a good thing. The cake was a hit, photos to follow. This one was a real challenge with the instructions “make a boat or something.” But I somehow pulled it off. No more cakes for a while, I’m caked out and I don’t think I can top this one.

Yesterday, Jeff’s friend August was in town from Los Angeles for a brief visit. So we went to Virginia Highlands for sushi followed by an evening at the Punchline (Ted scored some free tickets through a site called freecycle?) We saw Kenny Rogerson, he was very funny. Now, I normally don’t go out all day and evening on a Sunday- I neglected both house cleaning and laundry- but it was well worth it for some much deserved fun.

So, I’m exhausted, I need a day to recover from my weekend. Getting a flu shot today (bleech.)  But I don’t want the flu. Nope. No flu for me.

Totally cute idea. I followed the instructions exactly (well, a minor strawberry cake mix substitution) but almost exactly. I got this late Friday night:

Now, I must interject that as I made it, Jeff was expressing his concerns from a basic construction standpoint. But I wanted to follow the directions. And for him to shut up. (Not necessarily in that order.) I should have listened to Mr. Erector-Set (tee-hee- erector) because at 6:30 AM on Saturday morning, I had this:

That is one dead birthday cake. Now, having the tendency to be a tad dramatic at times, I am surprised that I didn’t break down into hysterics- the messy, hiccup-y kind. But I did not! I simply threw on some clothes, in fact, the same clothes I was wearing a few short hours before when I had finished the damn thing, went to the Food Lion to get some more stuff and I baked a second one. And THIS time, I listened to my man. If you are going to attempt the purse cake, be forewarned this recipe is seriously flawed in how the construction of cake parts are to support themselves. On the second cake, we (meaning Jeff) have achieved a very similar shape that has a strong pyramidal foundation of strawberry/vanilla yummi-ness. (Keep in mind that this puppy needed to travel too.)

And the finished product:

I didn’t get a better completed photo because by the time it was done, I was done. But it was much improved yet much like the first. Licorice handle, melted starburst cut outs (I was going for something Louis Vuitton-ish.) She liked it, most said it tasted good – although I’m going to have to take their word for it because- ew, cake.

But we did manage to find pirates. DR-Boy said- hey- we can make a castle and a beach and then some WATER in order to justify the use of pirates! It sounded like a good idea to me, and so began our great “collaboration”.

Now when a control-freak and a perfectionist put their heads together, not everything comes out sweet. Actually, we are lucky we didn’t kill each other in some icing-coated massacre.

So we begin. I had my initial concerns, this frightened me:

That is a LOT of crevices for cake junk to get stuck in.

Luckily I purchased this:

And a Joy it was, indeed. The cake came out slicker than snot (if you will excuse the expression.)

So I made a bunt and sheet cake. I was finished baking. Ready to decorate. That is when Psycho Perfectionist (also known as Delayed Reaction Boy) swooped in to say that it wouldn’t be big enough do do land, sea AND castle. After much heated discussion, this happened.

Damn skippy. YOU think it isn’t big enough, YOU bake the next cake. (Um, he was right, by the way, about MANY things in this collaboration, but so was I, not that I keep track of that kind of thing. Oh, P.S. and by the way, I am a bit of a control freak, I CAN share but don’t like to, sue me!)

Moving on, he carefully shaped the terrain

I mixed the icing colors for land and sea

The Twizzler Cracken was introduced

Golden Oreo Crumb Beach (One of the things I was right about, but I’m not keeping score or anything.)

Castle dusted with powder sugar and supporting icing “bushes”

Fruit Roll-Up Flags

Voila! (Aerial View)

Yes, the pirates on the boat seem slightly smaller than the ones on land, but that is only because they are oh so very far away. They are WAY out on the ocean. Yes they are. Shut up.

The palm trees are cookie sticks, pretzels, icing and fruit roll-ups. Notice the mini goldfish surfing the waves. This cake is really awesome. No, I have no idea how we will transport the thing, I’m thinking a glass or two of wine so that I will be bold enough to balance it on my lap for transport and less likely to freak out. This sucker is pretty big.

Go here to see all the progress photos of the creation of Captain Jack’s Pirate Cake for his big 30th Birthday!

Trips to the Grocery Store: Four

Money Spent: Some

Moments Spent Planning the Demise of One’s Boyfriend: Too many to count.

Look on the Birthday Boy’s Face: Priceless.

Have a good weekend!

My gentleman friend and I are currently working on costumes based on the movie “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” for us to wear at DragonCon. (I thought I might like to call him my gentleman friend until I figure out what I prefer. Boyfriend is blah. Besides, gentleman friend is what the little old ladies at my grandmother’s fancy retirement community call their boyfriends because the term boyfriend sounds really silly when applied to an 80 year old man. I thought I’d borrow the endearment and try it on for a little while.)

Well, anyways, the specifics of the project: The yarn is basic, boring Red Heart, but the result gets the point across. Seafarer beanie in red? DONE! Now, I only need to make 3 more. These costumes will actually be fun to wear as they will not be binding, nor will they require any makeup, mask, helmet or prop and we can wear tennis shoes!

Next Up: Another “Amanda’s Squatty Sidekick.” I know. I’m on my third in as many weeks. I really don’t know what is wrong with me. I also am working on have started and placed in a ziploc buried in a basket- a Rowan Tumbling Blocks Pillow in Intarsia (why? because I I’m a bit of a masochist? Probably, but more so I just feel like I should) and I the dreaded baby socks – I should probably finish before the baby gets too big, so I guess I’m just making felted bags because they make me smile, to procrastinate, to have that fresh-finished-feeling every day and if I mess them up it really doesn’t matter in the end.
Teaser: Now, guess what I’m making with these? (Sssssssssh. A special surprise for Jack’s 30th Birthday next week! More progress photos to come.)

I have just returned to “reality” after a truly fantastic vacation to Memphis. Months ago, with the big 3-0 birthday looming and with the unwavering desire to avoid any unnecessary and/or embarrassing fuss, muss or hoopla, I plotted to disappear with my man for a well-deserved pilgrimage to Graceland.

Why? Many have asked me this question. I suppose it is because I have always been fascinated with the fascination of Elvis. Elvis as an institution, an icon. I wouldn’t have labeled myself as a fan- or worse- a fanatic- but I’ve always been more than mildly enamored with the “King.”

So off we went, and we had such a great trip. We arrived in Memphis on Thursday evening and I proceeded to get intoxicated old-school style (with many shots of tequila.) I refused to dance on the bar at Coyote Ugly, but I would be a liar if I didn’t admit to contemplating it very seriously. In seeking the thrill of “look at me- I’ll be thirty in the morning”- I did smell out a karaoke bar. I sang one song (I love Rock and Roll) and promptly left the building. My honeypie said I was well-received by my fellow drunkards, but I’m thinking he was just trying to be polite.

Friday morning arrived like a punch in the face. Crap. Turning 30 feels an awful lot like a hangover. No worries, because the big b-day was also day o’ ELVIS. I got to see the house, the cars, the planes, the jumpsuits, even the grave site. It was surreal. Elvis was an actual human, that took care of his momma and daddy, that gave money to charities, that liked peanut butter and ‘nanner sammiches in his ultra-cool 70′s kitchen. Even though we did visit other places over the weekend, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (where Martin Luther King was shot), the Center for Southern Folklore, and the sights, sounds and smells (ew) of Beale Street- nothing else was more invigorating than Graceland. I must mention that I managed to spazz out in style by tripping over my own feet not once or twice – but thrice- in a completely sober state! I’ll be grateful for memories of this trip for a long time!

Click HERE to see all the photos from my trip.