Thursday, January 29, 2009

Yummy Cake Batter Goodness!

OK, maybe this concoction is a bit over the top, but you get the idea...
ice cream on the "cold stone"

cake batter ice cream to go!


For anyone not familiar with Cold Stone Creamery, please do yourself a favor and find the store closest to you, and try it. Just once. This is like a gourmet ice cream shop. For anyone that is familiar with the Boston area, right in Fanieul Hall there used to be a place called Steve's Ice Cream. Quincy Market/Fanieul Hall used to be a favorite place to go for a day trip and it was not complete without some ice cream from Steve's Ice Cream. The reason? You pick the flavor ice cream you want - they put the scoop of ice cream on a piece of what looks like marble that is kept frozen somehow. Then you pick what you want added into your ice cream. Say you pick brownie. They put pieces of real brownie on the scoop of ice cream and then mash it into your ice cream until it is thoroughly mixed through. Well, Steve's is no longer there, but Cold Stone creamery does the same thing, only I think even better! We now have a Cold Stone about 10 minutes from my house...this is a very dangerous thing. First, it is expensive...but well worth it! Second, I can't even begin to imagine the fat and calorie content in this stuff...but really, ya just can't think about that when you go.


Now, my favorite ice cream is called cake batter ice cream. I usually get cookie dough and either Oreo, or brownie mixed in. I have no words to describe how good this is to me....and very filling...don't let the small fool you...it will be filling. Now I had a friend say they thought the ice cream was too sweet. I can't imagine that every flavor is too sweet...you can try a scrumptious little sample of the ice cream flavors before you pick, so you don't pick something you don't like...but, if you pick something, get stuff mixed in and still don't like it...they will make you something else! Win-win situation in my eyes! I usually just get my ice cream in a bowl, but they have waffle cones and waffle bowls. The cones and bowls come plain, dipped in chocolate or dipped in chocolate then sprinkled with any kind of nut or candy you can imagine. I personally don't like their cones...WHAT?!! Blasphemy! I know, I hate to say it, but I don't. The cones themselves have a cinnamon taste to them and I find it ruins the taste of the ice cream for me.
Let's not dwell on the bad...I enjoyed Cold Stone twice last week! I was just looking for images of cake batter ice cream (which I couldn't find), but I found pictures of Cold Stone ice cream to go! I never noticed the containers of ice cream at the store...I guess I just run from the door to the counter so I can order as fast as I can - nothing in between matters. But now that I found out I can take it home...hmmm....maybe not...I just had images of me eating the whole thing in one sitting because I couldn't stop and feeling sick to my stomach...would still be worth it!


Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Bouncing Back...

I'm here, I'm here! Don't worry, I haven't gone anywhere!
Sorry I've been out of the loop....we changed Internet providers and I've been caught up in getting everything attached to my email updated since we now have a new email address. Don't know if you've ever been through it, but what a pain in the ass that is! We have had the same provider for 12 years, mainly because in our area we didn't have a choice. So now this new option becomes available and all Mike had to do was see that there would now be 6 NESN or ESPN stations available to us, including some in HD, well I thought he was going to spontaneously combust right then and there!

For those who didn't get my last post: Ricardo Montalban died, so my dream of going to fantasy island died with him. That's it. end of story. Nothing too complicated there.

For anyone living in New England right now, as well as many other parts of the country, I'm sure you will join me in a collective groan of frustration with the weather. Not only do we still have about a foot of snow from the last few storms, that is now conveniently encased in ice, but today we had snow, freezing rain, then regular rain, the last of which was accompanied by a lovely thunder and lightening storm - which we usually don't get in the winter so it was kind of bizarre. Not only that, but I find it rather inconvenient to get up and get ready for work when the outside thermometer says -2 degrees!

Why don't we hibernate? I'm really finding no downfall to it at the moment....

Sunday, January 18, 2009



It's official. I will never get a chance to realize my fantasy; I'll never hear those words that have been a dream of mine since I was a little girl...."Welcome to Fantasy Island...I am Mr. Roarke, your host." Honestly, the most amazing, magical and secretive things happened on this beautiful island. Sometimes it made your dreams come true, for others it brought the true intentions of evil people to light. Mr. Roarke always appeared out of nowhere at just the right moment with a hint of advice, but never telling you what to do - a man giving advice but not telling you what to do, now that's a fantasy! ALWAYS there was a nice beach-type cocktail at the ready for whoever wanted it or a shoulder to cry on if you needed it. The show was on Saturday nights after Love Boat and I watched it every week...until I got older and got a life...but always wished I could go to Fantasy Island. Now, as you may have heard, that will never be possible since Mr. Roarke has gone to the Fantasy Island in the sky. I hope there was a lei-draped host there to greet him with a nice cocktail!



Tuesday, January 13, 2009

We're Not Getting Out Until We Get A Ride...


I was in my driveway today waiting for my daughter's bus and I noticed some ice on the roof of my car. I opened the slider door to get a long-handled brush and before I could turn around, these two jokers jump in the car and refuse to get out. I think it's been a while since they've gone for a ride...maybe they have cabin fever? They really didn't want to get out and just kept giving me a look of, "Please don't make us get out. We'll be good, we promise!"

The Cat That Was A Dog...


Yesterday we sent our beloved cat, Ashes, to the big litter box in the sky. She would have been 14 years old this July. We got her as a kitten at the same time as our Rottweiler puppy so they grew up together and really had fun together. At the time we were under the impression that our dog, Missy, thought she was a cat since she would play with the cat so well. After Missy passed away at only 6 1/2 yrs old, Ashes grew accustomed to being the ruler of our roost. She was pretty independent so when almost two years passed and we brought home not one, but two incorrigible boxer pups, she was pissed to say the least. We're not sure if she didn't get along with Sasha and Sheba to spite us for bringing them into her domain, or thinking we were trying to replace her friend. Regardless, they just never got along. What we did discover, though, is that it was Ashes who thought she was a dog all along. Even though it was enemy territory, she would walk right up to their water dish and drink from it as if there weren't two pair of disbelieving eyes staring at her. When the dogs got fed, I had to put some dog food off to the side for her, otherwise she would push her way right into their dish while they were trying to eat. Ashes, as most cats do, had this great way of giving you one little look that said, "stupid human" as if anything you did was pointless, unless it involved pleasing them in some way.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Scientology Surfaces Again....

Just Me and My E-Meter!
Now of course I feel terrible for John Travolta and his family for the recent death of his son, Jett, but people all over the world lose their children every day, and they aren't in the news. I know, he's a celebrity - and one of my favorites, for the record - and that means that people want to know about his life and family and every other mundane thing he might do. The death of his son has also brought Scientology into the media once again...Scientology got such a bad wrap when fellow Sientologist, Tom Cruise, went bezerk on TV about Brooke Shields using prescription drugs for post partum depression....then he continued going bezerk when talking about Katie Holmes and I think everyone at that point realized he had just gone off the deep end. For the record Tom used to be one of my favorites but after all his bezerk-ness I now boycott Tom in my house....although Risky Business really is a classic, and I bet that was before he was introduced to Scientology. I myself am not that familiar with Scientology, although I have heard of the book "Dianetics" and I know I have read some articles on it and remember reading how many Scientologists are famous, wealthy people. The article seemed to indicate that Scientology might be responsible for the fame and wealth. I went on to the official Scientology website to have a look around and hey, who wouldn't want to sign up for a way of life that begins by being hooked up to a machine called the "e meter" (pictured above). The picture shows a person holding what looks like the end of a jump rope in each hand. These are connected by wires to a big box looking meter that supposedly reacts to changes in mental activity. So somehow our mental activity comes through our hands? This could explain a lot. We should use our head less and our hands more....
Anyway, back to the Travolta's. Of course I feel bad for them and their devastating loss and I in no way want to diminish his accomplishments, however, think of how many people are out there that go through this kind of loss, or worse, and don't have money to help them through it. I don't just mean money to pay for funeral and burial costs, but money for a chef to shop for food and cook for you and all your company so you can grieve without having to think about such mundane things. Or money for a housekeeper to do all the housework so while you're grieving you don't have to concern yourself with how the house looks or if you have clean clothes. Or money so you can fly all your family in for the services and no one has to miss helping through this difficult time. There are so many people out there that have to deal with tragedy while still doing a million other things on a daily basis. They say money doesn't buy happiness, but it sure can buy peace of mind...

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

"I'll Take A Life Of Rushing Around...And Make It A Double!"

Now I realize that if you don't live in the Northeast United States, you may not completely understand this post. I know that it's mostly the Northeast area b/c I have travelled down the East coast, driven to Chicago, Upstate NY and the coast of CA. Nowhere else (OK, maybe Chicago) do you find people living their lives so fast they have to take pictures, not for the memories, but to remember what they did! We live fast, we drive fast, we eat fast and most of us have thought on more than one occasion that we really should slow it down; take time for ourselves and our families, take time to smell the proverbial roses. We might even make an attempt, but more often than not, we get right back into the stressful grind of rushing everywhere we go. Even when we are going somewhere that isn't that important and it doesn't matter what time we get there! Those that have succeeded in slowing down are the ones that have moved to Florida, the Carolinas, Texas and CA.
So I found myself in the grocery store this evening, directly after dinner - no time to relax, when I noticed a new product while in the check out line. It's pictured above. I'm not joking, this is a real product. Someone out there decided we are living fast enough, we aren't already doing 24 hours worth of stuff in 12 hours with the help of endless amounts of coffee, soda and plenty of energy drinks. We now have the option of adding caffeine to our breath mints! How convenient! On second thought maybe I need this product. I was complaining to a friend of mine today that I do much better if I exercise in the morning, but no longer have time. I get up at 530am as it is and refuse to get up any earlier. She asked why I didn't have time if I got up at 530am...note said friend does not have children. I explained the list of things I have to get accomplished from 530a-700a, one of which I said get my lunch together. She suggested I do that at night. Not a bad idea, but my nights are reserved for kitchen cleaning, school paper reading, laundry doing and bill paying....and it would only save me a few minutes in the morning. So maybe I should get up at 430a to exercise and then just eat a whole box of these mints when I fall asleep at my desk....what? It might work....

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Big Butts Live Happy In Africa....

So I recently got together with 3 of my closest friends, one of whom lives in Africa so we don't get to see her often. The other 2 friends and myself were discussing the Serial Breast Feeder and I could tell that friend #4 didn't feel the same way about it that we did. She said in Africa, breasts are not seen as a sexual part of the body; it's more like they are utilized to give nourishment to their children and not much else. Women whip them out everywhere and it's no big deal at all over there. She did say that the female part of the body that is seen by men over there to be sexual, is the butt. You heard me right. And they like them big and voluptuous - they want their women to have big curves. The 3 of us looked at each other and said "That's it! we're moving to Africa!" She said they look at skinny American women and turn away in disgust. Can you imagine? We could roam free, just like the wild animals on the preserves, without fear of attacks from our peers on how we should look. I think I found my new "happy place"......my kids arguing, screaming at each other, at me....I close my eyes and visualize myself walking down a street in Africa and all the men turn to look....after I pass by! Sweet dreams....

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Why Can't I Be A Vampire?


I never wanted to be a vampire more than when Edward and Bella are in his car and he says to her, "I don't have the strength to stay away from you", or something incredibly romantic like that. Or maybe it's when their faces are inches apart right after he has saved her life in the parking lot (photo above)....or maybe when he brings her hundreds of breathless feet up into the trees. New Years' Day found me and a friend seeing the movie Twilight for the second time. This time, I'm happy to say, it was almost all adults in the theater. This meant no screaming teenage girls every time Edward appeared on screen...although this also meant we couldn't scream with them and get away with it! I enjoyed the second time around so much more because I wasn't sitting there trying to analyze the whole movie and compare it to the book. I just watched and enjoyed. My friend asked if it was a bad thing that we wanted to spend our afternoon drooling over an eternal 17 yr. old boy.....maybe, but it was great!