29 Spankings

That's right . . . I received 29 spankings from my silly niece Paige on Saturday night, it was my 29th birthday. Jared and I kind of celebrated all week by doing lots of little activities. First, I decided to learn how to ride a motorcycle. I rode a few times last week and I'm switching gears and going around Jared's warehouse. I'm not up to par to ride on the street yet but I'm taking a 2 day course starting this Friday. I'm excited and scared at the same time so wish me luck. I learned on Jared's little bike but it will be a big girl bike for my classes. I know, I'll be careful, I promise.

On Friday night we went to The Roof restaurant and I decided that was the last time we were going there. The food is really not that good, let's be honest. And for what they charge for a plate, they should make a better effort at making their food taste better than what I can cook at home. It really wasn't good. Big disappointment. However, I did eat a decent piece of pecan tart and I am still trying to find a recipe that is close.

Saturday night we went to the Training Table and ate some cheese fries with my sister Tiffany, my niece Paige and my parents. It was delicious and made up for the LAME dinner I had the night before. We topped the night off with a few rounds of Mexican Train dominoes and the delicious chocolate chip cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. If you haven't driven out to 106th in Sandy to get one of these guys, you need to. Worth the money. Best bundt cake I have ever tasted. Yummy!!

Sorry no recipes tonight. My sister Cerise, who lives in Texas, and I have recommitted to eating healthy. If I make it past three weeks it will be an accomplishment. Thanks Cerise for keeping me motivated. We'll have to check in a lot with each other. I'm determined to find some healthy recipes that taste just as delicious as my regular recipes. When I find some winners, I'll definitely post them.

Also, these pics were taking with my new point and shoot camera. Pics look pretty good I think.

Talk to ya'll soon.

Surprise Center

I can't take full credit for these little gems. Actually . . . the geniuses behind these chocolate delights are Tom and Cyd Klc. Tom made them one night and like a pig I think I ate half the plate. Um . . . embarassing. But freaking delicious and very worth it!!!

Here's the tell how:

I devil's food cake mix

2 eggs

1 Tbs. flour

1/2 cup oil

Mix all these ingredients up at once.

Get a bag of Rolos

Get a good tablespoon of dough, stick an unwrapped Rolo in the center and top of with a little bit of more dough and then roll in hands.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet. Then sprinkle with some powdered sugar after they have sat for 5 minutes out of the oven.

Everyone will hate these. They are really gross. Wink, wink.

Until We Meet Again . . .

I was so lucky to have Sarah here for a good month. We got to see each other a lot. Everyday I realize how lucky I am to have a best friend. For our last rendezvous here in Utah we went to dinner at Sego Lilly Cafe here in Bountiful. I love this restaurant. It's definitely phoo phoowey, so let's just say this is not Jared's favorite place. So anytime one of my girl friends wants to go, I'll all over it. We started with an appetizer of sweet potato ravioli drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sitting in some browned butter. mmmmm. Next we shared pollo alla gratella. This chicken sat on some garlic mashed potatoes and had a yummy white sauce with gorgonzola cheese and sun dried tomatoes. Yummy. We never run out of things to talk about. We could go on for hours. Sego Lilly is a great place. Anyone one who wants to go to lunch . . . come on up and we'll go.

Early Birthday Gift from the BFF

I had to blahg about a b-day gift I got from Sarah. I'll admit that I am a hard person to buy for because I'm really picky. Well just like a good friend, Sarah was attentive one day while we were shopping at the new Nordstrom. I was looking at wallets on the discount table. You see, I have been carrying the same wallet for 10 years and it has been spilling out of the seams for a while. Sarah bought me a super cute green wallet and I think it is gorgeous!! I am so proud to carry it and I can use it and look at it everyday. Thanks Boo. You are the BEST. No, serious. Don't believe me, no really, you are the BEST!!!

Getting Sucked In

It's 12:54 AM and it's another Sunday night where I'm not asleep and I know there is going to be hell to pay once my alarm goes off at 6:30 AM Monday morning. I had to do a quick blahg post. I stayed up tonight to finish Time Traveler's Wife. What's funny about this book is that Sarah read it and said it was just an alright book. I never read it and thought the cover looked kind of dumb. I know . . . don't judge by the covers. I saw that the movie was coming out soon and on Amazon it had over a thousand ratings so I knew it was popular. I finally got it from the library and it was not a disappointment. Not even close. Probably one of the best books I have read this year and it will be a favorite for sure for years to come. It is up there with those books that make you think about it for days after you finish. I have a short list of those books but that's another post. Can't wait for the movie. I love Rachel McAdams ever since she did The Notebook. She is definitely Clare Abshire. Oh and this book made me cry. Who doesn't love a book that makes you cry?

A Palate Cleanser

This is the second summer in a row that I have caught a cold. It's strange, most people get sick in the winter with colds, but not me. It's summer. And mine really suck because my congestion likes to sit in my ears and plug them so I feel like I'm on an airplane all the time. Oh well, I've got my ammo . . . Mucinex D (which my Doc told me was the best over the counter drug), my nose spray and my Zyrtec.

So the other day I counted up all the books I had read for this year. I keep a spreadsheet. I know, dumb, right? I guess every time I write a book down after I finish it, it feels like an accomplishment to me. Lately, I haven't been in the mood for anything to read and I think I figured out my problem. You see, after I counted my books I was a little surprised myself. I've read 39 already this year. That's more than a lot. So I've decided to take a break this next week. Cleanse my palate. Taking a staycation, a breather. So I'll have to think of some other projects to do around the house. I did pretty good last week with my cleaning goal. I got 2 rooms done. Next week I should have the whole house clean.

So what did I do yesterday while I was sick? I watched another BBC miniseries that I rented from the library. It's called The Way We Live Now. I really enjoyed it. The scary psychologist from Batman was in it but he was a good guy . . . sort of. What's funny is that the storyline was totally relevant for the times we are living in today. Rich man moves into town, many people invest in his scheme, and everyone suffers. Sounds depressing but with the characters there were plenty moments where I laughed. I recommend it.

Agent Dana Scully is my hero

Ok some of you may not know this but I LOVE the X-Files. I used to watch that show when it first came out on Fox television when I was in junior high. Gillian Anderson who played Agent Scully starred in the BBC miniseries that completely consumed my July 4th. I had no idea she was going to make a good Englishwomen, but in my eyes she can do no wrong. It's Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I rented it from the library. It's 15 episodes long; 1 hour length opening episode with 14 half hour installments. I really enjoyed it quite a bit. Moral of the story . . . don't try and birth a baby and hide it, don't wait on life to happen around you, take control of your destiny, and disguise your handwriting. Ok, check . . . I got all those down. I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for some long BBC drama. And a nice accompaniment to Bleak House was BBQ Chicken Pizza from Pier 49, no red onion. Remember . . . I loathe red onion. And garlic cheese bread. Very healthy and very tasty so I didn't need to work out that day.