Weelicious Recipe...

So I found a bunch of really cool recipes at Weelicious, but I wish I had done some research before going to the supermarket. Some of the ingredients were super expensive! Almost $10 a jar! But there was no stopping me, I had to try a few of her recipes. Tonight I made Popcorn Balls. I didn't read carefully and thought this recipe called for all three butters (sunflower,almond,peanut) and so I bought all three, only to realize later that it calls for one of the three. Upset that I had all three and didn't have to use them, I just used all of them! It came out great! Soooo Goood! It was Brianlily's first time having popcorn (that stuff and kids terrifies me!), and she loved it...daddy loved them too!

~Note to self...Make sure when using popcorn, get rid of unpopped kernels before you use popcorn! Ouch!~

First Easter Basket...

I couldn't wait to make my babys first Easter basket! Problem was, she can't have candy yet! So I had to find a way to make an age appropriate basket, while loads of candy practically fell off the shelves of Target! This is what I came up with:

Plush Bunny (found in the infant section upstairs. the ones I found in the seasonal section were cheapy, creepy, and the fur came out easily)
Easter book (Karen Katz, "Where Are Baby's Easter Eggs?"
New toy (Elmo bath boat)
Easter card
Elmo shaped eggs
Felt basket
Plastic grass









I love it, love it, love it! Can't wait to give it to her!

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Kohls...

Is WACK! I hate that store. I thought it was just the one I had been to back home in Brooklyn, but it's ALL stores. Went to the on closest to home and it's the same pathetic store. It feels like a psuedo store, like it's a phony, like it's random stuff thrown in there just to get you in then they'll steal your body! Ugh I hate it!

The only reason I went, and might have to continue going is that Safeway gives you $20 off coupons for Kohls. Why can't it be for Target!? Now that's what I'm talkin bout!


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Laundry Room...

I'm in the laundry room in my building, and as usual I'm stressed out trying to keep my clothes from touching anything. It's bad enough I have to use public washers & dryers, I don't want to add to it by having a single article fall on the gross floor, or touch the filthy rim of the washers & dryers.

So for the third time I've seen people (of every age) purposely, and sometimes not but they seem to not care, allow their clothes to fall on the floor!!!! I'm mortified! Just now this kid, maybe 18-24 years old, unloads his washer ONTO the floor and loads it into the dryer!!!! WTF is wrong with these people?!

Am I crazy? Or is this plain nasty!?


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SO EFFING SICK!!!

Brianlily and I are sick as dogs right now. My throat, head, and body feel like hell. I can't swallow without wincing. Before I got sick, Brianlily had been suffereing from what I thought was sniffles. Now that it's hit me, I know that my poor honey has been suffering from things that I couldn't see! How am I supposed to know she has body pain, or a headache, or a sore throat! It's miserable! I cannot wait until she can tell me what's wrong! We tried honey and lemon juice for the first time. Since she's now going to be 14 months, and with a sore throat like mine it was perfect timing. A few hours later she broke out in HIVES! I've never seen hives before, and was so freaked out. Needless to say I called her dr.'s office and they assured me that she would be ok. They said they didn't think it was the honey or lemon, but more likely the virus that she has. What ever the reason, I want her to be well NOW! Poor baby. There's something insanely heartbreaking seeing your child, especially little and helpless, going through pain and suffereing and not able to make it better. It makes me INSANE! Well, she's on Motrin now, and sleeping...I hope tomorrow it better. This is day number 4 or being sick for her, and day 2 for me.

Magnolia's In Bloom...

I cannot believe trees are in bloom! It actually started in the last few weeks...and look at this! It's only the beginning of March! Beautiful! Spring has arrived!

Daddy's Apprentice...

Almost 14...

My little angel is almost 14 months and amazing. I cannot believe that such a little person can completely blow me away every day. She's learning so fast, and is expressive, and a complete doll. Really I can't think of a better place to be than by her side. She has been shaking her head no for months now, and this week she started nodding yes! It's amazing how much you can communicate with a person one-sidedly using words. I still get a kick out of watching her do what I ask "sit in your chair mama so we can eat" or asking her to show me something "baby, where's "Goodnight Moon" " how telling her it's bath time makes her sit in front of the bathroom door, or the way she points at everything. Her words are becoming clearer...or maybe only mommy understands the goobly gob that comes out of her. She's my heaven...I almost can't breathe, the love just fills me. She's proof that I'm doing something, if only one thing, RIGHT! MY Brianlily...

Cannon Beach & The Oregon Coast Aquarium...

We did it! We took a trip to the coast and it was beautiful! The most picturesque scenery ever! The cliffs, the misty waves, the TREES! The trees were insane! They were coated in moss and so lush and dense. I guess that's what happens when it rains for 6 months. My goal was Cannon Beach. How could I pass up the chance to visit a GOONIES location. I MEAN, I AM A GOONIE AND ALL! It was perfect. You have to keep in mind, West coast beaches are NOTHING like back East. They seem soooo much bigger and scary! It was the day after the big earthquake in Chile and all the talk of tsunami's made visiting the coast creepy, but we did it anyway. It was a cloudy chilly day, but Brianlily soaked it all up! She had so much fun running along the beach and totally wanted to get in the water! It was pretty spectacular. The town of Cannon Beach is super small but totally quant and touristy. I can't wait to go back in the summer and check the creatures that live around Haystack Rock. Here are more shots from our trip.

Next was the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We drove 3 hours from Cannon Beach, down the coast...breathtaking...to Newport. That night we stayed at La Quinta. I needed something last minute and this was the only hotel reasonably priced and available. It was pretty on the outside, but old and shabby on the inside. The indoor pool was open all night, which on first thought was super cool, until we realized that was the sex spot for the late night freaks!!! lol We enjoyed a dip with the baby after we checked in and that was the end of the pool for us! Then we spend $50 on crap food from a place the front desk recommended!

The next morning we headed to the Aquarium, which was right behind the hotel. It seemed small at first, and the moment we started our tour through the aquarium we realized it WAS SUPER SMALL!!! The only aquarium in Oregon, hella far from home, and it was such a let down. I guess having visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium doesn't help matters, it IS only one of the top 5 in the country. It was really horrible. Just a few tanks in I think 3 little buildings. The grand finale was supposed to be the Passages of the Deep. It's where the sharks are housed, and where you'd sleep if you Sleep with the Sharks. Side note; I spent a Night at the Museum at the Museum of Natural History in New York City and it was one of the most memorable expierences of my life. I thought I would be doing the same at the aquarium, but after seeing what a mess it was, it is out of the question. My biggest isssue was the state of the tanks. You would think the tank would look like a natural habitat, you would think. There was only one in the Passages of the Deep that looked good and it was the first one, then it all went away. The next was a room filled with water, and a bunch of sharks looking soooo sad. I saw walls PEOPLE! There was nothing, just water and fish. I really hope they were just renovating. Oh and did I mention it was overpriced! Thank God we were still able to get really amazing photos of our baby's first trip to an aquarium. Check'em out at Facebook!

In the end, we had a great time seeing Oregon's Coast. It was Brianlily's first night in a hotel (which was a mess in of itself; thank God mommy brought outlet covers!), I can say I've been to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and I'm now and OFFICIAL GOONIE!!! Yea Baby!!

Split Pea Lentil Soup with Ham...

DELISH! My first attempt at making split pea soup was terrible. I made it with bacon and there was soooo much fat in it, it was a nightmare. This time around I bought shank/hock and it was AMAZING! I had some left over split pea, from the first try, soaked overnight and frozen. I put the ham and peas into a pot, added a little salt and pepper, covered them with water and boiled with the lid on for an hour and half. Once the peas were gone I noticed that the soup was too thin (I only had about a half a bag of peas), and decided to add some lentils I had. I boiled everything for about another 1/2 hour and Voilà!