Fun Size?? NOT!

Dear Snickers People,
Why do you call the teeny tiny Snickers bars "Fun Size"? Are they truly the best size to be called "Fun"? I don't think so. What's fun about opening a bunch of little candy bars in order to get a before-bed chocolate fix? They only start to become fun after I've eaten at least 8. You should rename the "King Size" bar "Fun Size". And maybe rename the "Fun Size" bars "Itty Bitty". Don't get me wrong, they're good....they're just not worthy of the title "Fun Size".
Thank you for your consideration,
Erin


PS - Calories consumed while standing up in a dark kitchen don't count, right? How many calories do you work off opening all those little itty bitty candy bars? Please advise.

Sunday Evening Musings

I was changing the sheets on my bed today, which made Mollie extremely happy. He loves to crawl up under the fitted sheet and play while I'm making the bed. So of course I had to snap some pictures. Isn't he freakin' adorable?

I'm obsessed with keeping my house clean. Seriously obsessed. I just cleaned all the doors and doorknobs upstairs. What's up with that? And I can't stop rearranging my closets. My house is usually pretty clean. But the thought of strangers roaming through my house and opening closets and cupboards gives me a panic attack. I had an open house today and my realtor said about 8 groups of people came through - great turnout. I'm sure some were neighbors, though, which makes it especially important that my closets are clean. You may be thinking, "Geez, Hilton, give it a rest". BUT, I know how judgemental I am when I look at houses! Of course I open up all the closets! Now my judgement is coming back to haunt me....I know it is. I was raking leaves tonight and some neighbors walking by and I could just tell they were talking about how I have clothes in every bedroom closet.....

Have you ever seen that show about the family that has 18 kids? The Duggers. Well, I was watching the episode where they are "only" on their 16th kid and moving into their new home. The mom, Michelle, is so organized it's amazing. They were commenting on how organized she is and the dad goes, "She didn't used to be this organized.....blah blah blah". Seriously? I wanted to punch him.

There's also a show on Oxygen called "Snapped". It's about women who just go crazy and kill their husbands. Seriously? Do we really need to give men another reason to be scared of committment? Oxygen, take this show off the air. You are not helping us.

Coldplay!

My friend, Jenna, and I saw Coldplay last night in Cleveland. We had an awesome time! I liked them before but now I LOVE THEM! They were soooooo good! If you aren't a fan, you need to immediately go buy / download their albums. Trust me, they kick ass! Of course, since we were in the "big city", we had dinner at Sushi Rock in Cleveland before the show --- yummy! It's been so long since I've had sushi! We don't really have sushi in Erie....unless you want to serve up some raw Lake Erie walleye. Duffy opened for Coldplay. Apparently, she's huge in the UK. Hmmmmm.... I liked her sound (kind of like Amy Winehouse), but her dance moves were really annoying. She pranced around the stage like a pony, twirling her mic cord the whole time. The verdict's still out on her!

I can't wait to move back to a city where I don't have to drive 2 hours to see a concert! We got back around midnight, which isn't TOO bad. I'm only up this early because I have a house showing today!

Happy Stinkin' Halloween

Aunt Mandy got Mollie this great Halloween costume. Needless to say, Mo is more than a little upset with the Hiltons right now.... Isn't he the cutest, though???

My Sista!

The marathon race commemorates the run of the soldier,Pheidippides, from a battlefield near Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Pheidippides collapsed and died at the end of his run. Here's my point: God did not intend for people to run for 26 miles straight!

Amanda ran in the Columbus Marathon today. Well.....she only ran the 1/2 marathon. "Only". 13.1 miles. And she's still walking! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! She did better than half of the people that ran the same race. We were there at the 5 mile point and at the end cheering her on. I missed her at the end of the race...must have been because I got distracted by all the shirtless man candy. I got winded just watching her. Seriously. More than 1 block and I start sweating...things start chafing....it isn't pretty. She has inspired me to do a little more exercise. Maybe I'll take her dog for a walk around the block later. Hey - it's a start! Way to go, Amanda! I'm proud of you!!!

Bacon + Ice Cream = Genius

I stumbled across a great new blog today.....called Delicious Days. This wonderful man that writes the blog posted a recipe for bacon ice cream. The first step is to candy the bacon. To quote Homer (Simpson, not the other one), "Ummmmm....Bacon...."! Candied bacon. Sweet & salty yumminess! You must check this out:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/03/candied_bacon_i_1.html

Escape From Erie!

It's official. This morning, I accepted a job in Columbus. I am so excited to be moving back to Columbus after 15 years! But, I love, love, love this house! It's a great house. Great neighborhood. Great neighbors. It's now on the market, in case anyone's looking for a great summer home! Erie is gorgeous in the summer! I'll even throw in some furniture if you buy it! :-)

You can go to Howard Hanna's website to see more pics of the house, including updated pictures of the outside of the house.

http://4132trask.howardhanna.com/

Glamour for the Masses

Check out this delicious little satchel I found at Target today. It's part of Anya Hindmarch's new line for Target. BTW, she's a British designer whose purses run around the $1000 mark. http://www.anyahindmarch.com/ I couldn't figure out how much her stuff really is because her site has everything listed in British Pounds. Drat! But expensive is expensive! And she has a line available at Target. This little beauty is only $44.99. I didn't buy it....yet. Don't praise my self-control. It's only because I haven't decided if I want this one of the black & brown one. So a big shout out to Target today for bringing glamour and hipness to the masses everywhere.....even to Erie.

Gratuitous Puppy Shot

Okay, could my nephew be any cuter??? My sister's dog, Wynne was recently selected to be in his doggy day care's 2009 calendar! (Yes, she takes him to DDC. But I can't really mock her because I have Patty the Petsitter come to visit Mollie when I go away) Speaking of amazing animals, Mollie caught another mole tonight! That's his 5th one this summer! My mom may not have real, live grandbabies yet, but she has an amazing grandkitty and grandpuppy!

Fuller Figures & Downtown Erie

On our way back from the library a while ago, my friend, Jenna, snapped this picture of the sky. The sky was amazing tonight - all kinds of crazy blues and pinks. This church looks incredible against the sky. The pic didn't turn out as good as Jenna would have liked, but I thought it was pretty good! Erie's not so bad.....

Now for a rant!

While surfing the internet today, I came across an article about Eva Longoria Parker discussing her new "fuller figure". Fuller figure??? Seriously? Are you freakin' kidding me? The woman is a size zero! SINCE WHEN IS A SIZE ZERO CONSIDERED A "FULLER FIGURE"??? She gained seven pounds over the summer. SEVEN! I gain seven pounds after a good meal! Ugh! I'm so disgusted I think I'll have to calm my nerves with some mint chocolate chip ice cream!

What I Learned on Vacation

• 
  I just got back from visiting my BFF, Lori, in North Carolina. She and her hubby just had their 4th child, so I went to help her for a few days. I don't know how much "help" I was, but at least I was a diversion for the girls - Emma, Lily (shown here) and Julia. Lori is Superwoman! I always knew she was a good homemaker, but whenever I spend time with her I have more respect for her! She is absolutely amazing -- and makes it all look so easy! Here are some takeaways from my vacation:
  

1. Don't show kids pictures on your cell phone. They will want to look at them again. And again. And again.... You get the idea.

2. Newborns are very high maintenance.

3. If a 4 year old doesn't like your lipstick, she will let you know.

4. Newborns are a lot of work.

5. Kids are CRANKY when they get home from school. Really cranky! Seriously. It's kindergarten....how bad could it be??

6. It is NOT easy to get 3 children ready for bed at the same time! Baths, PJs, book reading, tooth brushing.... I'm pretty sure I skipped a step at least one of the nights!

7. You quickly realize how inappropriate your music selection is when take a 4 year old to preschool and decide not to turn on Radio Disney. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Lily doesn't decide to break out singing "In the Ayer" ("Oh hot damn...this is my jam.....")!

8. Have I mentioned that newborns are a lot of work? My interactions with baby Jacob were minimal, but he requires constant vigilance!

9. Getting woken up before 7am every day by 2 kids is not all that much fun....even if they're as adorable as Lily and Emma. It's especially great on those days when they announce, "Auntie, your hair is a hot mess".

10. I am very lucky to have such great friends in my life! Thank you, Lori & Paul, for welcoming me into your home!

Britney's New Video!!!!

Blogging 101

Okay, so I've decided to start a blog. I think it's a great way to keep my friends and family tuned into what's going on in my life. Some of my more creative friends do it...and, as it happens, I have some extra time on my hands right now, so I'm going for it! I would have started this blog earlier this summer, but I couldn't think of a title! Who knew that this would be the most difficult part? There are SO many creative blog titles out there! What could I come up with that would grab my friends' attention? Hmmmm.... it's not as easy as it sounds! Partial list:
* Hilton is the new black.
* Are you Kidding me?
* Tales from the Great White North.
That's all I came up with after 3 months of deliberation. Seriously. So, here goes my attempt at blogging. I feel so very hip and with-it! Now...if I can only figure out how to add pictures.....