Update #1: The girl from work that messed up the cookies ended up calling me the following day to apologize which I thought was very professional of her and very appreciated. Update #2: I finally tried the Plum Island Sound Clam Chowder from Cooking Light and was a little hesitant at first. The recipe calls for canned clams which kind of creeps me out (I'm not sure why because I totally eat tuna out of a can!) but the price of fresh clams was a little out of my budget. The bottled clam juice also threw me for a loop but I thought I would be adventurous. I'm not too comfortable cooking fish (that's EJ's specialty) so I wasn't sure how this recipe was going to turn out. Minus the Dutch Oven portion of the recipe, I followed everything else and it actually did turn out quite delicious. Nothing like the fresh clam chowder you get in the city but this will suffice for rainy days. Update #3: We didn't win the cinnamon roll contest. We calculated that we had a total of 4 orders that referenced our cake and cupcakes and we lost by 1. The Newport Beach store beat us but at least everyone now knows that our store is a contender although we may be the underdogs! Update #4: I decided to splurge and get my hair semi-professionally done at a beauty school in San Rafael. I was tired of using boxed dye and thought that their prices were reasonable. Needless to say, I should have gone on a day where I hadn't been up since 4am because my appointment was at 6pm and I didn't leave until after 9pm! All they did was a full head of highlights which would normally take about half the time but since they are students they have to stop and have the instructor check everything. Overall, I would probably go back but just on a day where I could sit still for 3 hours and not fall asleep! Update #5: There is a creepy cat (not Eek-like AT ALL!) that likes to walk on the roof in the middle of night and move the rocks around. Here is a picture of the culprit:

Update #6: I did some Christmas shopping and didn't even spend any money! My debit card collects points every time I use it and then I can redeem them for various items. I decided to see what I could get with my points and was able to order 2 things off of Dad's list, 1 thing off of Mom's list, 1 thing off of EJ's list and even a book for myself. I didn't even have to pay for shipping either! Once again, I was pretty impressed with myself. Update #7: I ate my first candy cane of the holiday season. I was trying to get into the holiday spirit but haven't really been able to yet because I missed setting up the Christmas tree (although Grandpa I heard you did a great job and I can't wait to see it!) or hanging the Christmas lights or even just being with family. I can't wait for the next week to hurry by because EJ is going to come up and visit and be my "guest" to the manager's holiday dinner (by this time I won't have seen him for a whole month!) and then it will only be a couple of more days after that until Vegas and then finally Home with the family.