Slice of Cookie Cake Pie

Oh yeah, I found yet another amazing sound dessert creation to make! It's called a Cookie Cake Pie and it pretty much is just what it sounds like. You take a round pie pan, and roll out a homemade or store bought pie crust on the bottom. You take chocolate chip cookie dough and spread it on top of the pie crust until it's about an inch thick. Then, you mix up some Funfetti cake mix and pour it on top of the cookie dough until the pie pan is about 2/3 full. It will spread and rise while baking.

After its cooked in a 35o degree oven for around 30-40 minutes, remove and let cool. One completely cooled, spread buttercream frosting on the top and put some fun sprinkles on top! I'm making this concoction for a graduation party I'm attending on Saturday. Needless to say, I've been sneaking bites of the cookie dough since I bought it on Wednesday. I'll take a picture when it's complete and let you know how it tastes. It may be coming to a party near you if it gets approval this weekend!

5 Days!

Only 5 measly days until my trip up North! Oh how I've been anxiously awaiting this trip and getting to see my high school friends T & C. I fly into Philly on Wednesday and later that evening we have reservations at our favorite Moroccan food joint called Casablanca. For $22, you get a 6 course authentic meal that will rock your world. Thursday we'll head to H&M for some tax-free shopping and then after lunch we're catching a bus into NYC.

Our original plan was to drive to New Jersey, park in a parking garage and catch the ferry into the city. However, upon learning the price was close to $50 a day to park, we quickly vetoed that idea. It's cheaper to catch the 2 hour bus into the city and we'll head right to our C's apartment in Manhattan. Friday we're going to sight-see and take advantage of the pay what you can event at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). The rest of the trip will be more sightseeing, shopping and eating. I'm so excited!

I was quite interested to learn that starting on the 25th, Times Square will be closed to cars. It's been transformed into a "Pedestrian Promenade" until the end of the year. Times Square is a crazy, loud packed place where pedestrians fight with cars to get across the street. The mayor hopes it will reduce accidents and bring back the old charm of Times Square. They have set up tables and beach chairs for people to relax at during the day.

*picture found on Yahoo news*

Vampires Everywhere

I went to Barnes and Noble last night in an effort to stock up on books to read on the airplane next week. My favorite thing is to peruse the sale rack and snag books for $4-5 that look good. I could spend hours in the bookstore looking at the covers and reading the synopsis on the inside of the book jacket. I don't really have a method to my madness for picking books, I just try to find ones that look interesting.

While I was roaming the store, I couldn't help but notice the ridiculous amount of books that deal with vampires. You can definitely blame it on the Twilight series, as there were never that many books being shown so predominately in the store. It's almost a blatant in-your-face, if you love Twilight and you love vampires you'll love my book, kind of deal. A friend of mine had suggested reading the Sookie Stackhouse series, which is the basis of the HBO vampire series True Blood. I picked up the first book in the series because it's apparently very humorous and entertaining to read.

What's funny to me is that most of these vampire books are targeted to the "young adult" readers. It would appear that us older and more mature readers would have no interest in the vampire lure. Twilight was tarted to young adults and I would guess about half of it's loyal readers were over 25! The Sookie Stackhouse series is targeted to the older crowd, so I'm excited to start reading it next Wednesday. My dang plane leaves at 6am, so I'll be needing something to keep me occupied while I wait for the plane to depart.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another busy and fun weekend for the books. Friday night we went to a neighbor's BBQ in the hood and had a good time. Saturday managed to fit in the gym, and then went for a boat ride with Hubby. We got caught in the rain for over an hour and finally decided to make a run for home. Poor Hubby was getting pounded by rain as I sat down in the cabin all nice and dry!

We had a full boat group on Sunday, over 14 of us, and we were going to have to make two trips to the beach. Unfortunately, the minute we stepped foot on the boat, it started to pour. We attempted to wait it out, but it went on for a good 40 minutes before we gave up. It had turned cooler and the sun was hidden behind some thick, dark clouds. We decided to head back to our house and have a cookout. We made awesome burgers and ate chips and dip and talked until the sun came out about 4ish. A group decision was made to attempt the boat again, and we went to Turtle Cove for about 3 hours. The smaller group of friends took off after that, which left 6 of us to party. We went and got some awesome ribeye steaks and potatoes and finally ate dinner around midnight. We felt very European! Talking, laughing and singing ensued until around 2am, when most of us called it quits. Hubby and two friends headed to the Man Cave out back to watch the movie Team America.

We rolled out of bed around 9am on Monday and headed to the Lakehouse Cafe for some yummy breakfast. The boat was loaded up around noon and we set sail for the beach. The weather was beautiful and we were so happy to get some sun. We took the two small dogs and one big dog and they had a blast running around the beach. Plenty of food was passed around between the three other boats that met up with us. We lounged on the beach and in the water, which was the perfect temperature. We finally called it a day around 6pm and headed back to the house. Our friends packed up and left, and Hubby and I crashed on the couch to relax. Even with the rain, it was a very fun Memorial Day weekend.

Bunko Babes

Last night was our monthly Bunko meeting in the neighborhood. T picked me up and we headed over to eat some yummy food, drink Pina Colada's, admire the view, and play Bingo. Normally we play the dice game called Bunko, but we switched it up this time and played Bingo. A friend had borrowed an old-school Bingo machine and cards. I feel sorry for the next-door neighbors after last night. We were hooting and hollering and making a lot of noise. I laughed so hard my cheeks hurt!

After someone one a game, we all smacked our cards against the tables and sang the kiddie song "Bingo." Oh yes, did I mention the drinks were flowing freely? The hosts daughter surprised me with a birthday present. She is an amature photographer, and had taken a picture of me on the boat a few weekends ago. She found a photo she liked, transferred it to thick paper, and made a black and white copy. She then used photo pencils and colored it in to really make the photo pop. This is a crummy version, since it's from my phone, but the original is amazing.

After she turns it in today for a grade, she's giving me the original! I was totally shocked and thrilled, you could tell she put a lot of time and effort into the piece.

I'm In Love With This Song

It's called "When The Wind Blows" by All-American Rejects. Check out this slice of musical heaven:

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

"A quiet evening with friends is the best tonic for a long day." Oh mister fortune cookie, you have no idea! That quote was from my fortune cookie from last night's dinner. My girls took me and T to P.F. Changs to celebrate our birthdays. It's always the longest day in the world when I have an event planned with the girls. The clock ticks away and the day drags on, and I probably send a million emails bitching about how long it was taking to get to 5 o'clock.

We all laughed and ate our way through the appetizers when K announced she had a game for us. We all about fell off our chairs because K is not a big game girl, so we figured hell had frozen over! She let us know there was something for each of us and it had an underlying message. Being the bossy girl I am, I grabbed the bag, reached in and pulled out a small baggie. When I pulled the bag out, there was a little cookie in the shape of a foot. Perplexed at first, I read the inscription, which read, "Aunt G." It took all of 5 seconds for me to get the message, and I hid the cookie and passed the bag along. T got the bag next, pulled out her cookie, and we immediately bust into tears. K was announcing her pregnancy to the group!

Needless to say, lots of cheers, laughs, tears and hugs ensued for the next 10 minutes. It was the most adorable way to let us in on her secret. We proceeded to shoot the shit and make summer plans throughout dinner. From seeing Mamma Mia, celebrating K's bday on the boat for the 4th, and our girls trip to Lost Pines. Being surrounded by these wonderful women and friends is amazing, and I feel so blessed to share these important moments with the group.

I look forward to many quiet evenings with friends (lord knows they're never really quite thought) and hope the traditions we're forming and love that we have for each other lasts a lifetime. Now that the girls are popping out the next generation of LC's, we have a lot to look forward to!

Up, Up, and Away!

I'm very excited, I just found out there is a trapeze training facility near downtown! You can go alone, or in a group and learn how to do tricks on the trapeze! I'm going to get some additional information, but it appears the price range is $45-65 for 2 hours.

Anyone interested in going with me?

Live Long and Prosper

Hubby took me to see Star Trek last night, as I had been begging him to go with me since the movie debuted. I used to watch some of the original Star Trek episodes when I was younger, so I had some general knowledge about characters and funny lines, etc. But nothing prepared me for the stunning visual effects, excellent script and group of very talented actors that make me give this movie an A+ rating!

Chris Pine as James T. Kirk was amazing. I know, it doesn't hurt that he's a cutie, but he was very convincing and eerily resembled a young William Shatner. Zachary Quinto, who you may recognize as Syler from Heros, made a fantastic Spock. Again, it was so damn crazy how he looked like Leonard Neroy, who played the original Spock. The storyline was great, and it make it very easy to follow, even if you had never seen an original episode. Being that I knew some of the original catch-phrases, I laughed out loud a few times because they said the phrases with such conviction.

This movie is totally worth seeing on the big screen, even if you don't consider yourself a Trekkie or a sci-fi movie buff in general.

Free Tickets....

to my pity party, according to my husband! It's my birthday today, and I've been giving Hubby nothing but crap the last couple days about how he neglects my birthday. Every year since we've been together, I've thrown or organized some large party or event to commemorate his birthday. But when my turn comes along, nothing. He did try to organize a day at Wet N' Wild, a local water park years ago. But there was a wake boarding competition on Saturday, my actual birthday, and he changed the plans to go there on Saturday, and the water park on Sunday. Weather was great on Saturday, but it was cold, overcast and rainy on Sunday, and I cried. I'm not gonna lie.

I've come to accept my hubby doesn't have party planning skills, and that I'm the master planner in our family. Sigh. I would never tell him this, but I'm kinda okay with it. It gives me the perfect excuse to plan a NYC trip every year as my birthday present. However, I would still appreciate it if his ass could buy me some flowers or even a frickin' birthday cake. But no, he doesn't work like that. He thinks me planning NYC is enough. Sigh. Thank god for my girlfriends because we plan birthday dinners for each other and make a big deal about it.

Hubby must have finally got the hint, because he called me this morning to say he was taking me to the movies tonight and dinner on Tuesday. My girls are taking me to dinner on Wednesday, and I have Bunco on Thursday, so my calendar has delightfully filled up! Pity party over!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night Hubby surprised me by taking me to see Wolverine. It was awesome! I loved the movie and how it answered questions from the previous X-Men movies. Plus, it introduced a new character. Gamebit, whom I'm in love with now.
Saturday it rained all day, so I hit the gym and then lounged about the whole day. I finally roused hubby to join me for the neighborhood Bingo party and BBQ. So yummy and a lot of fun. Then I headed to a friend's house to make bead bracelets.

Sunday I joined C & K at the Baby Expo, and actually learned quite a bit. Talked with a pediatric eye-doctor and learned that most likely my babies would have crappy eyesight, just like hubby and me. Oh the joys of being future parents! After we had our baby fill, I headed off to run some errands. Got my rings inspected and learned my wedding ring had a very loose diamond that needed to be fixed. I get to pick it up Tuesday where it was be all shiny and fixed. Our friend T. invited us over for a dinner of ribs, which were excellent. We drank margaritas and chatted until 11pm. Then we went home and fell into a blissfully deep food and drink induced sleep.

T.G.I.F.

Praise the lord above that it's finally Friday! Ever since the weather has turned more summer-like, I've been finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate at work. I'm restless all day long, and literally count down the hours until I can go home. It doesn't help there are 3 sand volleyball courts across the street and I stare longingly at the lucky college kids to get to play all day after classes.

And in the spirit of being so thankful it's Friday, I thought I would take a moment to recognize the other things in life I'm currently thankful for.

1. Bakeries- thank you for making your sweet concoctions every morning to sabotage my diet. Everything tastes like a little piece of heaven

2. Our Boat- thank you for letting hubby and I have a boat and a lake in our neighborhood.

3. Neighborhood Bingo Night- It's free and I can win prizes!

4. Old Navy- Thank you for finally putting your bathing suits on sale. Picked up a cute top for $13!

5. Friends- Thank you for emailing me while I at work and providing me with a distraction!

Hope you all have a good Friday!!

Middle School Memories

When I was in second grade, our class was part of the annual school Christmas pageant. We practiced our songs for weeks and everyone knew where they were to stand. All of the children were required to bring a piece of fruit, as an offering to Jesus, that would be handed out amongst the crowd. (Yea, I still don't get the piece of fruit deal. Don't they offer fruit to Buddha, not Jesus?)

When the night came, our class was to meet in homeroom and then we would walk down to the auditorium together. I wasn't really feeling like singing and mingling, so I hid in the bathroom until the class had left. After that, I figured I would help by cleaning our homeroom. I straightened desks, cleaned the chalkboards, and swept. When the rest of my classmates came back after the pageant was over, they were quite perplexed as to how I beat them back to the room. My mom came to pick me up and asked how come she didn't see me in the play. I told her I didn't feel like joining. My mom just sighed, and told me to just let her know that next time, and we wouldn't have had to waste a trip!

Maker of Cakes

I've decided to start taking cake decorating classes that are offered by Wilton Cakes. They have several level courses available at your local Michael's stores, for very decent prices. I love to bake, and I do have some self-taught cake skills, but I'm looking to expand my current cake making knowledge.

I'm starting with Level 1, where you learn to make and work with buttercream frosting. Again, I'm already familiar with this, but I'm curious to learn some new tricks and trade secrets from a pro. It's a 4 week course, meeting every Wednesday for a total of $27. You are expected to either bring or purchase certain class materials, but I have most of what is needed already.

I plan on taking all the levels available, which currently is Level 4, which has you working with fondant. You learn how to prepare it properly, roll it out and onto the cake. I'll also learn to make flowers and shapes, etc. I'm very excited and plan to start my Level 1 course in either July or August.

Early Visitor

I definitely wasn't expecting Hubby to call last night to tell us we were having last minute company for dinner that evening. Our friend who is in the Special Forces is in town for some top-secret job stuff, and was scheduled to come by for dinner on Wednesday. Good ol' Uncle Sam switched his schedule around a bit, so he came last night. I had to double-back and hit the grocery store so we could cook him a proper fajitas dinner. I was super stressed because my house still looks like a bomb went off from the party two weeks ago (I know, I've been super lazy about cleaning it up.)

Our friend is a bad-ass, to say the least, and it's always funny how he can't tell us what kind of job he's working on, since it's classified. He did share some stories about how beautiful Afghanistan and Iraq really are, minus all the fighting and bloodshed of course. He told us how Saddam's palaces were truly incredible but they are all riddled with bullet holes now. He said they would make amazing hotels if someone got in there and did some repair work. We did ask him if he was able to keep any souvenirs he found while overseas. Apparently, they can keep any guns they find that were made before 1908, because after that they are considered semi-automatic weapons and must be turned in to the government. He told us when his team was exploring caves for hidden bad-guys, they stumbled upon a cache of old-school guns. Two of them were ivory musket guns with curved barrels, which were used by men riding camels. The curved barrel was made to sit upon the camel's back and make shooting easier. He was allowed to keep those two guns, which is amazing.

It was fun catching up with our friend and so weird to think he has a dual personality in a way. When he's home with friends and family it's like he's never been oversees and seen the horror of war, and I can only imagine what his "war" personality is like. He never told us, but he was awarded various metals after his last tour was over. Medals for bravery, saving comrades, leading troops,etc. It makes me extremely glad to have people like him fighting for our country.

An Oatmeal Bath Will Do You Good....

if you get the Aveeno Oatmeal Bath, not regular Quaker Rolled Oats. Pretty much, if you use regular eating oatmeal for a bath, you'll turn into a human oatmeal snack!

I didn't think much of this when I was searching the grocery store for the Aveeno stuff. I figured the Rolled Oats would work just as well. I asked the cosmetics lady if she had any suggestions and she said the rolled oats would begin to cook and congeal in hot bath water and it would clog my tub. Apparently the Aveeno stuff is a powder, which doesn't congeal. I can just imagine what would have happened if I had used the rolled oats, you could have poured in some brown sugar and cranberries and had a little snack!

But seriously, if you have sensitive skin or just want an awesome bath experience, throw in some powdered oatmeal. It's life-changing.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night's are wonderful because Hubby and I cook some dinner, kick off our shoes and relax on the couch and watch a movie. This time we picked Zack and Miri Make A Porno, which I highly recommend. We laughed our butts off and thought it was very funny. We pretty much love all the Seth Rogan movies, but this one was great.

Saturday I dragged myself to the gym and then went on the boat around 1ish. K. met up with us to partake in the first boating run of the season. We picked up another neighbor friend from her dock and decided to cruise around and feel the wind in our hair. The water level of the lake is about 8-12 feet lower than normal, so we found a sandy beach area that is normally covered. We beached the boat and all got out to hang out on the sand. It was wonderful, we layed out our blankets and took in the amazing weather and scenery. We called it a day around 5:30pm. K. went home to spend some time with her family, and the rest of us went to get cleaned up to take Hubby's mom out to dinner.

I wish I could say dinner was amazing, but alas, that was not the case. My MIL decided to drink (after promising that she wouldn't) and the drama ensued. Everyone was fighting at the table of this nice restaurant, and I was desperately wishing our damn food would arrive so we could eat and leave. MIL ended up storming out of the place when she was asked to pick between alcohol and the family. Ugg, I really had confrontations at public places, save that shit for behind closed doors. So the evening was an expensive bust.

Sunday Hubby tried to get the whole family to go on the boat, but they were still fighting from the previous night. We went alone and met up with our neighborhood friends at the sandy beach area. We took the small dogs and they had a blast running from blanket to blanket looking for any food that had been dropped. We called it a night around 6ish and went home to cook dinner and chill out. A fairly laid back weekend, but much needed after all the birthday partying the weekend before!

I LOVE This Song!

Brilliant work by Adele & Daniel Merriweather

Friday Funny

I love the expression on the cats face! Ah, what people do in their spare time. Happy Friday!

Flight of the Concordes

A big group of cousins and uncles and girlfriends are going to see the Flight of the Conchords show tonight. We're super excited, because Hubby & I have thought they were funny since our cousins introduced us to this video:



For those of you who are unfamiliar with Flight of the Conchords, it's a New Zealand comedy duo who have a show on HBO. They have a comedy/musically inspired show that showcases their dry humor and funny song-writing capabilities. They even won a Grammy in 2008 for "Best Comedy Duo." The show tonight it to wrap up their current season of their TV show. I'm looking forward to laughing my butt off with our large group of family and friends.

Babies on the Brain

My friend E gave birth to her twins on Sunday and I feel like it's been a baby whirlwind since then. Her little ones came two weeks early, so they will probably spend the next 2-4 weeks in NICU so they can build up their strength. All of us girls are chomping at the bit to go visit E and see the newest additions to our group, but we have to wait because the new parents are feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

In other baby news we're currently planning C's baby shower which will take place in August. I know, it seems crazy to be planning for August already, but man do our calendars fill up fast! We're already chosen a planning meeting date to discuss all of the fabulous theme options, decorations, food, etc. I have to admit, all of this sudden influx of babies and baby planning is starting to tug at my uterus. Maybe I'm just hormonal because it's that time of the month, but I'm not telling Hubby that, don't want to get his hopes up too soon!

I Take Bribes

Our neighborhood community group just sent out a survey asking us to rate certain aspects of our neighborhood. It contains the usual stuff, what do you like/dislike, what would you like to see improved, etc. I was just going to throw it away until I saw a disclaimer at the bottom of the paper work. It read "As an incentive, we have authorized 5 randomly selected survey participants to receive one of five prizes." They were gift certificates to local yummy restaurants or a years worth of homeowners dues. Hello lover! Needless to say, I just finished filling out the survey and popped it into the mail. Nothing like the lure of a prize to get people motivated!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night was spent cleaning the house, inside and out, and preparing the food for Hubby's party the following night. I spent an hour and a half at the grocery store picking up everything on my list and made a stop at Micheal's for some more white decorations. We called it a night around 10pm because we were exhausted.

Saturday we continued the cleaning and preparing for the party. I managed to squeeze in some time at the gym, and picked up Hubby's He-man cake and white flowers and balloons. I also was rushed because I was co-hosting a CABI party at 3pm. I made some quick and easy food for that party and prepared Mock Champagne for drinks. We had around 15 women come to the CABI party, and we were all trying on clothes left and right. When all the sales had been totaled, I was able to buy 3 items of clothes half off. After much deliberation, I settled on a cute pique vest, white bow shirt, and a long pinkish maxi dress. After that party was over, I had to rush home to finish up the food for the White Party.

With the help of T., we managed to make the White Champagne Punch, White Sangria, and all the food by the time the party started at 7pm. I was quite pleased to see how many people adhered to the dress code of all white clothing. Everyone looked so fresh and ready to party! We had the music blaring, people were dancing, enjoying the drinks and plenty of food. I enjoyed too much of the drinks and the place was quite spinney by the end of the night. I finally called it a night a little after 2am, even though people were still dancing away outside. About 2:30 I sat straight up in bed and decided I needed to pull the trigger to stop the spinning. I spent the next 4 hours praying to the porcelain god and cursing the White Sangria and Buffalo Dip I had indulged in all evening. Let me tell you, Buffalo dip tastes awesome the first time, but it's no good coming back up. I wanted to die and I had the shakes so bad it was ridiculous. I decided to camp out on the bathroom floor, and made a pitiful bed out of our bath towels, robes and a blanket I found on the bedroom floor.

Jason peaked in on me a few times and I told him I was on the floor for the night. I finally got to sleep around 7am. Hubby woke me up around 9ish to see if I was good enough to get some sleep in bed. I was definitely hung over (my first time ever) and crawled pathetically into bed. We had a bunch of guests sleep over and they all wanted to go to the Lake House for breakfast. After they piled into the bedroom to make fun of me, I mustered up the strength to join them. I ordered some sprite and toast and it was wonderful. We all laughed about the funny moments that happened at the party and I'm pretty sure we offended some families with our colorful language. Everyone went on the boat, but I decided to stay in bed and nap. It was the best freakin' nap I've ever had. Later that evening we decided to order a pizza and drink Cokes. We both ended up crashing around 9pm. Hubby told me it was a great party and really loved his He-man cake. I just don't know how we're going to top this to celebrate his 30th next year!

How Was Your Dinner?

I had bunco last night, which meant I would be gone most of the evening for the second night in a row. Normally Hubby gets a little testy, because he says he likes hanging out with me in the evening. I think he likes it because he knows he'll get a good dinner. So I was gone by the time he got home last night and told him he had to fend for himself for food.

I got home around 10pm, to find hubby passed out on the couch with the TV blaring. On the table was a box of cereal and a used bowl. I woke him up to come to bed and asked him how the cereal was for dinner. As he sleepily rubbed his eyes and sat up, he said "Please don't ever leave me. I'll starve to death." He said it in a little-boy voice and it was so dang cute I couldn't help but laugh. How these men survive without women is amazing, one night of eating cereal and they freak out.