I did what I came to do...

The weekend started rough...
   -   There's flooding all through central PA
   -   The 3 hour drive was rainy & foggy
   -  Turnpike construction meant nothing to drink but fruit punch

But by the end of the weekend I did what I came here to do... get 2 friends hitched.

Mission Accomplished.

The wedding this weekend turned out to be absolutely lovely. The rain held off & we got our boogey on. And I realized I'm too old to "get low". lol Wonderful.

4th of July + The Wolcott Family

All over America I'm sure other bloggers are cleaning camera lenses & hanging patriotic bunting in hopes of capturing a little slice of what family & country means to them. And I'll love perusing all of them, but I'd like to show you what it looks like to me... in a slightly different sense.

This is (obviously) the Declaration of Independence

And here it is again, only zoomed into the bottom left. Notice anything strange?

Yep, that totally says Oliver Wolcott. "Hey Lauren, isn't Wolcott your last name too? What a crazy coincidence!" That's no coincidence, my friends. My great-great-(I don't know how many greats)-uncle was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. We've also got some long-ago Governors in there, I guess the Wolcotts used to be kind of a big deal especially in the New England region. It makes a pretty good party story & typically the only person who can top it is Emma whose uncle is Michael Keaton. (I know you all just got twice as excited for Michael Keaton than ol' Oliver... no use denying it, I understand)

So lately I've been thinking of joining Daughters of the American Revolution. I'm 98% sure I qualify & I like the work they do with veterans, & hopefully someday that could benefit my hypothetical future daughter though scholarships. 

(P.s I totally received a small scholarship from the Wolcott foundation so I'm pretty certain my kids would be a shoo-in for that too. I've practically got their college covered before I even found their dad. haha)

And if the lineage wasn't enough, I'm sure my obcession with First Lady & my ability to make kick-ass patriotic cakes would get me in.  So I'll be diving knee-deep in genealogical research pretty soon for my application & might uncover some more family stories to share

So happy Independence Day, everyone! Have fun at your cook outs & fireworks, Uncle Oliver would be proud.

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

Week 47

Hi everyone, and welcome to the first Flashback Friday hosted here at Heya Sparky! I'm so excited to be hosting the link up... probably more than I should actually admit, there was a lot of jumping around & embarrassing myself at work... but I've loved Flashback Friday since Day 1 & take it as an incredible honor that Tia even asked me. So thank you to everyone in advance whose here to link up & tell some stories... you're all fantastic beyond words!

Ok, on to the Flashback...

Last weekend I visited the parents & came face to face with a set of photos I almost forgot existed.... here's a hint: There's twelve of them in the same frame, shaped in an oval, & are memorials to every embarrassing hairstyle I've ever had. That's right, the school photo-day collection. It's my own personal loop of shame & hilarity. The perms, the crazy fake background, the progression of how a strangely shaped little girl actually turned into a real person after all. And it only took 12 years. I'll spare you the full collection & give you my favorite 3 from across the ages:

Kindergarten. The last time glasses of that size can be cute. After that you just look like your Grandma or a hipster... which kind of look similar anyway.

Fourth Grade. That's right, you're witnessing a permed bowl-cut... the things legends are made of. And speaking of Grandmas, I expect to look like this again in my life, maybe in another 50 years.

Sixth grade. I finally traded the glasses for contacts, and the perm for a more Marsha Brady look. My self-awareness must have really kicked in after this because the rest of my photos look like a normal 90's kid in flannel, headbands & white eyeliner, but let's celebrate it for the glorious cluelessness it was.

So here's the 1-2-3 of joining in....

1. Share a flashback of your own. Dig through old photos & tell us a little story of days gone by. Click the little blue "Add Your Link" button below to link up.
2. Grab a button & add it to your post to let others know where the party's at.
3. Click click click... Stop by others' blogs who are linked up & leave them a little comment love. Half the fun is laughing WITH each other! Ok you can laugh AT me too.

<a href="http://heyasparky.blogspot.com/"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yFIMN0jWqNo/TgQF8BiQdcI/AAAAAAAAA6E/SNEkWqKKvS8/s288/flashback%2Bfriday.jpg" width="252" height="200" /></a><br />

Top 5 Sparks

 (source: We Heart It)

I've been officially blogging for a year & a half now, can you believe it? After a while you loose track of what used to be mile-markers or looking for any kind of round number to celebrate. It seems silly in the same kind of way you roll your eyes at couples who celebrate 4 month anniversaries. But on this nominally momentous occasion, how would you like to take a little trip down memory lane with me?

Ladies & Gentlemen (who am I kidding? Ladies & more ladies....) I present to you: the top 5 posts in Sparky history for your perusing pleasure...

#5 - C25K

The story of how Tink & I went from couch potatoes to 5k finishers. I can't remember another time in my life when I felt so proud of any accomplishment. It makes me remember what it felt like to love running.

#4 - Flashback Friday, Week 4

A love story for the ages: 3 best friends & a Valentine's tradition to remember.

#3 - Vlogging & Karaoke

You'll notice a trend with the top 3, they all involve being Germanic or embarrassing myself (apparently they're real crowd pleasers!) This one happens to be a combo. Who knew I had such skill to be absurd AND German at the same time?

#2 - Fastnachts Day

I don't blame you guys one bit for making this a favorite. Fatty balls of deep-fried delish... who can resist? Go ahead & get your Pennsylvania Dutch on while you give this one another look. Although I swear I just gained 3 lbs. from reading.

#1 - Please Vote

This post rose to infamy when my pup was in the running for a cutest baby contest. I'm sure it's still burned in most of your memories for better or worse. Voting became a fierce rivalry & this post was the launching pad to the polls. But all's well that ends well... aka my dog totally kicked those toddlers' asses.

Did I miss any other favorites over the past 18 months? Don't leave me out here on Memory Lane all by myself, I'd love to hear the posts you love the best. I think the period mix will be going down in history as a personal favorite. haha 

Thanks for all the comments typed & friendships made over this year & a half... I don't have the most readers in the world but I'm fairly certain I have the best. Much love to you ALL.

Suprise Luncheon

Today, just about a minute before I grabbed my purse to head out to lunch, I got a phone call asking me to report to Pupil Services. Ugh, couldn't this wait til I got back? Apparently not...

It was my surprise farewell luncheon. :) And these folks know how to do it RIGHT. 5 crockpots, a veggie pizza, cake pops, more cake + ice cream, & my ultimate guilty pleasure... Mt. Dew. Now excuse me while I take a sugar-coma under my desk.

A Whole Lot of NEW

You know those times where you wonder if a fresh start would feel like coming up for air? Well I'm finding out that's exactly what it feels like! There's so much "new" in my life right now & for the first time in a long time I'd actually qualify to be an optimist without a snarky comment in sight. (Ok, maybe a few... I wouldn't want you guys to not recognize me anymore!)


The new apartment you knew about. The home improvements you knew were coming. But I'm so over-the-moon excited to be announcing publicly my ...

NEW JOB! Yeeeee!!!

This has been a long time coming. Being young, there were a lot of firsts for me in this process & it's been a kind of stressful, scary time for me. In the past year was the first time in my life I'd ever interviewed for a job & not gotten it. (what?!) It was the first time I was ever on a serious hunt where jobs didn't just magically open for me. It was the first time I ever had to negotiate for what I'm worth monetarily... that was weird. And it was my first time ever resigning from a real, big-girl job. I think all these things might help you realize what a BIG DEAL this new job is for me. I'm moving on up! Like a grown-ass woman does. So I start next month as an account manager for an advertising agency.

And now I won't deny you photos any longer of the more tangible "new" in my life. Just some projects I wanted to share for you to oooh & ahhh over with me.

Remember the ugly dresser from my childhood? Well now both my dressers have a matching makeover...

And those awesome retro cafe stools given to me by a friend? Still as awesome, but they're now more at home with my style...

My beautiful coffee table that belonged to the mother of a friend now has a new companion end table! Bought from Construction Junction for $15. Boom!

And last but not least... a new color scheme. Well more like an extended color scheme because the living room paint perfectly matches my old studio! And now I have this gorgeous green color in the bedroom that I'm falling madly in love with. I'm a black & white photo kind of girl, mid-century American glam, which doesn't always lend itself to a love of COLOR. Or does it? (You can peek at the paint behind my dresser photo too) Let me know what you think. Marlyn & James seem to like just fine.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

You win some, you lose some.

A recap of how I spent my birthday weekend...

WIN - Embracing your age

In fact I ended up embracing a few extra years too. I accept that 30 is only a few years away & said why not just celebrate it now? So a win for my faux 30th birthday, complete with the episode of Friends when they all turn 30 & my own solo to Jay-Z's "30-something"

WIN - My favorite restaurant

They don't even have Isaac's in Pittsburgh so as soon as I saw the sign I started drooling, I had my high school graduation dinner here, I love it THAT much. It was like a trip down memory lane for my taste buds.

WIN - Baking all day with your girlfriends

When you're with your BFFs you could be happy doing anything. We ran errands, drank outside mid day, baked something spectacular, watched TV... & we had the best time doing everyday things.

LOSS - Making bets after a few beers

I won't tell you the details... let's just say it involved a running start, a sore bum, & enough momentum to lose a shoe. A win for having such amazingly reflective shoes though.

WIN - A slice of heaven

Chocolate & Guiness cake. A layer of Amaretto cream. A layer of blackberry jam & marshmallow fluff. Buttercream icing. Are you drooling yet? I'll try to round up the recipes for you because this was possibly the best cake of my life. And we made it ourselves!

LOSS - Store bought dough

You'd think with all our baking escapades we could handle some additional pizza dough. Instead we opted for the cheap store bought one in hopes of making a specialty shape pizza. But the dough wouldn't even roll out. Total fail.

WIN - Delivered pizza

Instead of our pizza disaster we ended up with a ranch, beef, onion & fries topped pizza. We really should have just ordered that from the start.

 LOSS - Not being able to make the weekend last forever

Fastnachts Day

Happy Carnival, Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fasching, Fat Tuesday, or whatever you call it where you're from! Where I come from, it's Fastnachts Day.

Growing up in Eastern PA I took a lot of Pennsylvania Dutch traditions for granted. I've never had to make fastnachts or a shoo fly pie because they're sold everywhere, even in the grocery store. But without even crossing a state border it's a different world in Pittsburgh. Every year I pout about not having fastnachts available & usually eat a normal doughnut out of bitterness.

Well not this year. For my 5th Fat Tuesday in the Burgh it's time to take matters into my own hand, strap on an apron, & fry some ridiculously fatty balls of delish.

I went with Fleegal's family recipe which is your typical flour, sugar, eggs, milk, etc with some cinnamon & cloves. There's another variation I'd like to try next year made from potatoes where you have to wait for the yeast to rise & can control the shape... but this was easier & a good introduction into frying. I've never fried anything in my life, but fire hazards be damned I gave it a try.

 

I learned a few things on my first fastnact adventure....

• A little heat goes a long way. When your tub of crisco says "medium heat" they really mean LOW. Otherwise your apartment will fill with smoke & your first batch will immediately brown while the center is still batter. .....or so I'd imagine *ahem*

• Let the dough sit a little while. This might have something to do with the baking powder? But after about 10 minutes I noticed the dough was much more solid. So I let my 2nd batch sit a while & they ended up much less crustacean shaped than those in the pictures.

• Fastnacts are not compatible with my lifestyle. It's really impractical & slightly ironic to BUY fat for a day where tradition tells you to use up the old fat in order to get rid of it for lent. Also I didn't own any metal scoops & plastic melts so I ended up scooping them with my cheese grater, as you can see above. And I had to buy paper towels specifically to dry them, normally I use real towels to clean. But I imagine it's a good thing to be ill-prepared for deep frying in your day-to-day life.

So enjoy your one annual day of church-sanctioned reckless abandon. Tomorrow starts Lent & I've got some hefty plans for myself. But not today. Today I eat fastnachts.

Weddings, Hats & Chins

This weekend my friends got married. Which means celebration & friends gathered, the only ingredients needed to equal a good time. And as promised, I held true to my plan to BRING BACK HATS with the help of a little shop called "Yesterday's News".

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty happy with how the outfit turned out! And although one friend did mention that I looked a little Amish, I got so many compliments from total strangers who hunted me down to say "I saw you at the ceremony & had to tell you how cute your hat is!" And so begins the hat revolution. But I won't be able to take full credit, because check out the lovely Emma rocking some fly headwear of her own....

I might be the worst guest on record. I didn't even get one photo of the bride & groom yet have an assortment on my table goofing off! But take my word for it, Elise was lovely. And as for us... well we entertained ourselves just fine. Sonja was my plus-one & made the whole day more fun. I ate marrow out of a lamb bone on a dare (& it wasn't bad!), & of course it wouldn't be a major life event if we weren't taking chin pictures. God, how I love the chins!

Someday I'll make a coffee book of just chin pictures called "The Days of Our Lives" to chronicle all our most important life moments through chins.

You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

(source: WeHeartIt)

It's a rainy Valentine's Day in Pittsburgh, which makes all the pink fluffiness of this holiday look so silly. Because it IS silly. I'd wager that anyone reading this blog would probably agree Commercial V-Day has very little to do with actual love. Am I right? I started this day super grumpy (over-slept, forgot to mail valentines, accidentally spit on myself, etc.), but I think I've found the silver lining to this cloudy day regardless. My loves. And they a numerous...

Did you know that Rhianna song... you know, you can stand under my umbrella ella ella... wasn't written for a boy? It was for her best friend.

So I thought "Hey, for Valentine's day I should list all the people I love & tell them why!" But that task would take until NEXT Valentine's day to list them all. Isn't that a delightful problem to have? So many people you love that you literally can't list them all? Yes indeed, I'm a lucky girl with lots of love in her life.

So instead of every individual, I'll have to group them up. And as I typed this I got a little teary-eyed....

The Loves of My Life:

The Playmates - These are my people who I spend the most time with. Who include me in their day-to-day. Who share a life with me. The people who I go out with, who I stay in with, go on adventures with, & regain my sanity with.

The Huggers - These people are always ready with a good squeeze. I used to hate to be touched, as weird as that is, but these people didn't take no for an answer & just pour on the affection. I didn't even realize how needed that was until they were in my life.

The Talkers - These people answer the phone with "Hey, Beautiful!" or leave sweet comments here or send text messages at just the right time to tell me they're thinking of me. Their words have more than once been a life raft during bad times & made me light up during good times.

The Siblings - These are the people who have been like family for a long time, who know all the stories & all the flaws. Sometimes I don't see these people as often as I wish, but when we are together it's like they've always been here. They're my blood, biology has nothing to do with family.

The Shared Umbrellas - These people are always a great support to me in the midst of having their own load to carry. To say you can stand under my umbrella means it's raining here too, but there's still room for you. It means so much to me when someone is fighting their own battle & still takes the time to back you up with yours. I hope I'm able to reciprocate the same for them.

The Safety Nets - These are the people who protect me. Total independence would be a lonely state, it's good to need other people & be needed in return. And these are good people to work with because they say "go ahead & try, I'll be here to make sure you can't fail". The image of 'having it all together' fills me with terror because I know I can't live up to it, but as a team I feel like we can.

The Classmates - These are the people who challenge me, teach me, & grow with me. We learn from each other & with each other, & we all become better in the process. They are my muses, my professors, my study groups, and my class clowns. They give life substance and depth.

The Mom - She gets her own category. She's everything.

HERE WE GO!!

Here we go!

Steelers!

HERE WE GO!

Pittsburgh's Going to the Super Bowl!!!

If you know ANYTHING about Pittsburgh, you know I got almost no sleep last night from excitement & tingles & adrenaline because WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL, BABY!!!

Again.

So if you have expectations that I can talk about anything else this morning, you're going to be severely disappointed.

Here are a few of my favorite highlights from last night...

(they're both super short)

Preach it, Coach!

Yeah... this happened. And I loved it.

And of course, I couldn't disregard the current Pittsburgh anthem...

Black & Yellow

BLOGoversary: 1 Year

Happy Birthday to Heya, Sparky! you're 1 year old.

I hope that throughout this year I've expressed my sincere gratitude to everyone reading these words for all the ways your presence has shaped & molded my year.

Last January when I started typing away, it was for me me me. But then one day I realized people were actually reading this thing... & not just my mom or the 3 people I could account for from leaving comments. There were like actual people reading along. And then I made friends. Wonderful, sweet friends. And then people who are far away from me were connecting to my everyday life in a way they weren't able to before. And then even more people were reading if you can believe it. And, just as it should be, my focus became more about you you you.

Fantastic you.

So with a year's experience now under my belt, I have some goals of how I'm going to better take care of YOU folks from this benchmark on.

1. Take better pictures. You deserve the planning it takes & I'm going to try to step it up a notch. Quality over quantity.
2. Keep it Real. Sometimes things are just silly & I like to share, but looking back I think the best posts are the ones that come from the heart. I'll try to keep that in my focus.
3. Stay a Joiner. I'm really loving the "I'm a Joiner" page even though it's still tiny & growing. I hope to turn it into a place of resource when we're looking for somewhere to plug in with one another.

BLOGoversary Giveaway

As my big thank you to everyone for a great year, I have a little something to give away. (Actually 2 little somethings! Keep reading...) I made it myself so I hope you like it...

Wire & Lace Brooch

"Lovely" - 3" x 1.5"

Prize #1
Win a custom wire & lace brooch with a word of your choice.
To enter, "like" Heya, Sparky! on Facebook. You can use the link or the box under the Contact Me section to the left.

Prize #2
Win this brooch with phrase"lovely".
 To enter, grab a button & add me to your blogroll. Leave a comment letting me know you did. Please make sure you link back or leave an email address so I can contact you if you win!

Both winners will be drawn at random on Sunday. Go ahead & enter for both!

Cheers to a great year spent together 

& another great year to come!

My Little Winner

*everyone start humming the Miss America theme song*
There she is... Miss Work-It-Wednesday.


Oh my gosh, I just don't know what to say! Well first of all I'd like to thank the fans, without you none of this would be possible. Also I need to thank my agent & publicist for all their hard work. And of course my mom, Hi Mom! Thanks for all your love & support over the years, this one's for you!

haha But seriously, I can't believe Natalie actually won this contest. I entered her almost joking but secretly hoping, now I'm super pumped to have pulled it off. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who voted for my sweet pup-face angel dog. (Yes, that's actually how I speak to her...) I really appreciate taking the time to click away, you're the best. WCMCNW? has the full results.

There were actually a few bumps along the way, which was totally unexpected from just a fun-loving blog contest. One of my friends thought it would be funny vote against Natalie extensively, which actually did hurt my feelings in all seriousness. And Emily's blog got the dreaded "mean anonymous commenter" about allowing my dog was insulting to mothers, which makes me feel sick. We as bloggers know one of those comments are going to hit at some point or another, & of course they're always anonymous, I just feel bad being the catalyst for that. But major props to Emily for hosting such an awesome contest & keeping a sense of humor through the whole thing. You're awesome!

Bring on 2011

Hello my lovelies, I've returned after a nice holiday break and am ready to tackle a new year. With 2 buddies by my side in this coffee shop I'm sitting in, I feel like I'm already off to a great start.

I debated over what exactly I wanted to share for a New Year's post...
- hopes & goals for 2011?
- recount my top 5 ever New Year's Eve kisses?
- my favorite posts of 2010?

All these options, but in the past I've been known for my ridiculous & numerous resolutions so I think that's what I'd like to share with you this New Years Day. And I've had a pretty high success rates for my resolutions, like the year I decided I wanted to be a "hat person". But without further adieu or random stories, I present to you:

New Years Resolutions 2011

1. Wear pearls & dresses at least once a week - Not necessarily at the same time. Pearls one day, a dress another. Really it's just a part of reclaiming "Me". And my No-Pants-November challenge taught my not to fear dresses in the winter, tights really aren't so bad.
   
2. Don't Listen to the Black Eyed Peas - They've been of my crap-list for some time, but remaking Time of my Life is crossing the line & they are now officially dead to me.
3. Do the Dishes - This is my one weakness. The one and only thing about living alone I'm not a fan of is that it's never someone else's turn. Too bad, it need to be done more frequently than currently.
4. Protect my Camera - I have a new one! Woohoo! Your regularly scheduled Sparky will return very soon, but I need this camera to not get quite as beat up so it doesn't crap out after one year. Lesson learned.
5. Kick it Old School - I want to make a bigger effort to go back to some habits that have kind of left the normal routine of our culture. I want to get better at sewing so I can create & remake my own things instead of just buy buy buy. I want to freeze food so I can eat by the same standards in the winter as I do in the summer when farmers markets are abundant. I've started changing the way I cook, going less processed so I can control what goes into my meals, but I could kick that up a notch too. I know this is a big resolution & won't be kept flawlessly, but it's just a progression in a certain direction.

So what about you? What are your New Years resolutions?

Gingerbread Inspiration

I'm sure in another day or two many of you will be in family-fun full throttle... roasting chestnuts, decorating gingerbread houses, singing around the piano. Tradition is wonderful. But consider this to be the voice of inspiration here to tell you "Tradition doesn't mean a carbon copy every year. Get creative!"

When we went ice skating downtown the other day, there was an awesome gingerbread house display created by students all over the city. It was amazing! Sure there were a lot of beautifully decorated houses, but some of these kids really took it up a notch. It got my wheels of my little mind turning, maybe they'll do the same for you...

The Running of the Bulls

Football Stadium

My Future House (see here for the background story)

The Eiffel Tower

Go get creative! And make sure to show me what you come up with, you wonderful people you.

It's Christmas Time in the City

(May I suggest pressing PLAY before viewing
for optimal Christmas cheer & blog enjoyment)

"City sidewalks busy sidewalks .
Dressed in holiday style
In the air
There's a feeling
of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on ev'ry street corner you'll hear

Silver bells silver bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring a ling hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas day "

Birthday Girl

I call her Momma Bear...
My friends call her Momma-Dubbs (Wolcott = W = Dubbs)...
You can call her Birthday Girl...

Happy Birthday, Mom! Love you lots & lots & lots!

Mimosas Make the Day Go Smoother

I'm technically still on Thanksgiving Break, so to me it's not too late to share what my Thanksgiving looked like. For me there was no slaving over potatoes & turkey, there was no over the river & through the woods to Grandma's, there wasn't even sitting around the Wolcott family table... but before you start to feel bad, I assure you I spent my day with family:


It started with coffee, mimosas, a table for 25 & a breakfast FEAST! It's become our tradition to spend the morning with the people you would choose as family & get a little booze in you before you head off to see the family that genetics handed you. I'm in a slightly different boat, my family is 5 hours away so this IS my Thanksgiving dinner table. And I love it.

Then it was off to meal #2: lunch at the church. We always offer a free meal on Thanksgiving Day... but not like you might think. It's not a soup kitchen, I didn't go to volunteer... well I guess I did, but not by scooping food. Just by talking. At our meals we gather, talk, laugh, & be community for eachother. I'm believer that there's a big difference between doing things FOR people & doing things WITH people. With is the key... we're all here together & there's something really good about that. Families, homeless, & anyone who just wants to hang out together, here we are.

So that's how I spent my Thanksgiving.

I hope yours was filled with just as much
love & warmth & reasons to be thankful!