November 11, 2006

Even with my birthday and the great fellowship going for us, the Gamecocks still didn’t pull out a win. I’m not even going to post the score. I’m just going to show you the obvious similarities of our moods on November 11, 2006 and November 10, 2007. Sad.

November 10, 2007

Fortunately, I still had one day left to celebrate. Todd and I joined his parents, their friends, Glen and Cathy Ragsdale, and Todd’s grandmother at DiPrato’s for a fantastic brunch. It was good to be with family on my birthday since I wasn’t able to see my own parents and brother. We took Boudreaux down to the River Walk and enjoyed the wonderful weather.

our ‘coon dog

For dinner, we went to Garibaldi’s with Matt and Katie Bogan and spent a long time getting wedding advice and discussing the disappointing football season that we’ve just endured. Todd made sure I had a great birthday and I couldn’t be more thankful. This was my first birthday that I didn’t spend with my college friends in over 5 years and he made sure that it was very special. It was a great day!

I keep up with the news and pop culture as best as I can. Recently, it seems like all I hear about is the writer’s strike. Late night talk shows will start showing re-runs this weekend and soon a lot of shows will start having to do the same thing. I don’t really care much about that because my favorite shows are American Idol and Lost. American Idol obviously doesn’t need much scripting and Lost will not come back to TV until December. I’ve heard that Lost has already taped 8 shows and has scripts for 6 more shows that haven’t been taped. I’m hoping that by the time those 14 shows have aired this strike will be over and we Losties won’t have to suffer through more re-runs.

Please, writers, give us the answers we’ve been waiting for for three years!

(I just want to make sure that everyone knows that the title to this blog is from the lyrics of part of an SNL sketch with Justin Timberlake. I don’t typically refer to Finley Park as Homelessville.)

Anyway… Todd and I had a great weekend! The Gamecocks were on the road at Arkansas and we had plans to watch the game on Saturday night with our friends. I was planning to make a cake and ice it with this amazing icing that my Aunt Johnette makes. The South Carolina temperatures have finally reached the tolerable point where we can stand to be outside for long periods of time. We decided to take Boudreaux to Finley Park to throw the (golf) ball around and let the rascal get some of his energy out. We like to use a golf ball because Boudreaux plays with it like a cat would play with a toy. He tosses it back and forth between his paws and really enjoys the challenge of catching that tiny ball.

Here are a few pictures from our fun outing!

boudreaux checking out the water at Finley Park

Todd is great with the self portraits

the whole family!

And I just want to brag on our very smart dog, Boudreaux. He was very thirsty and tired after his romp with the golf ball, so we took him to the water fountain and he knew exactly what to do!

After talking about the fantastic icing recipe from my Aunt Johnette, I feel a responsibility to share it with everyone. It’s so easy! Enjoy!

You can use this with any chocolate cake.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

12 oz Cool Whip

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS:

1/2 cup chopped nuts

2 plain milk chocolate bars (1.55 oz size), chopped

Beat the cream cheese (with a mixer) until it is light. Beat in the sugars. Stir in a bit of Cool Whip and then gently add the remaining Cool Whip.

Optional: Stir in 1/2 cup chopped nuts and 2 plain milk chocolate bars (1.55 oz size), chopped.

Best mixed ahead of time so the granulated sugar can dissolve. Holds well in the refrigerator. Makes more than enough for 2 layers, probably enough for three. Personally, I like just one layer that’s extra thick!

While the wedding was officially on when I accepted Todd’s proposal on April 28, now it feels like it’s officially officially on! The Save the Dates went out yesterday, and probably won’t reach their destinations for a week due to their hugeness and the fact that each postmaster will weigh every single Save the Date before sending it on its way. I’ve really had so much fun planning the wedding and Crazy Event Planner Erin hasn’t even shown herself yet. I realize that when the big day is six months away (on November 3) I’ll really start focusing on the details, but so far, it has been a lot of fun.

Todd and I are going to Greenville for Furman’s homecoming in a few weeks and I’m planning to nail down the menu details and work more closely with the Westin Poinsett’s in house event planners. This is the part that I’m most nervous about. On May 3 I’ll be hanging out with my bridesmaids, getting my hair and nails done, taking pictures, practicing writing my married name, and secretly worrying about everything. I won’t be able to be at the reception site making sure all of the linens are to the floor, all the centerpieces are where they’re supposed to be, and the three bars are in the most convenient places. I know that I should trust the ladies that work at the hotel and do this every weekend, but it’s not their wedding and I’m sure they don’t care about my wedding as much as I do. I’ve asked a couple of co workers to be stationed at the ceremony and reception sites on the Big Day for quality control. These ladies have been in this business longer than I have and have done lots of weddings on the side. I trust them with everything… except doing my hair. My hair will probably end up with its own blog closer to the date.

We had our first engagement party on September 23 in Yorktown, Indiana. My family moved to Yorktown from Louisiana when I was 13 and I lived there until I graduated from high school. We still have so many great friends there from church, school, and community. I was so excited that our dear friend, Jennifer Edwards, wanted to host an open house for us and that so many of our old friends came! It was great to see everyone and I was thrilled for Todd to get to meet so many of them. His parents drove all the way to Yorktown and his best friend, Matt Teevan– who lives in Warsaw, Indiana, came down for the party, too.

I hope the last 202 days don’t fly by because I know these days are very special, but I can’t wait to be Mrs. Erin Carroll!