The Spirit of Christmas

I'm one of those that truly believes that Christmas should be a year long feeling of peace, joy, goodwill, and love for our fellow man. I also believe that Christmas goodies should be enjoyed year round as well. I want to thank the ice cream makers of Ben and Jerry's for helping a small part of my dream come true by way of their heavenly Peanut Brittle ice cream. I've had really good peanut brittle (my mom's) and really nasty peanut brittle (the kind you buy from kids selling door to door for a school fund raiser). This is the really good kind, mixed in vanilla ice cream with a caramel swirl. It's like waking up to snow flakes drifting past your window and sneaking into your stocking before your parents wake up on Christmas morning. Oh yeah, it's all kinds of good.

Ben, Jerry, I want to thank you for making this wonderful flavor. It totally makes up for your disastrous Boston Cream Pie flavor (GAG!). What went wrong with that anyway? How can you screw up cake, chocolate, and pastry creme? Why does it taste like 5 different chemicals I might use to clean my sink or paint my wall?

The only thing they could have done to improve this yummy Peanut Brittle ice cream would be to give it a fun name. Even a simple "Granny's Homemade Peanut Brittle" would have been something. Or "Brittle Spears" ('cause we all know Britney is nuts), or "Brittle White" (Betty just did SNL so she's totally hip, and probably has brittle hips). Do you guys need help naming your flavors? If so, just give me call. I'm also available for taste testing and flavor consulting. Seriously, guys, what are you waiting for?

What would you name this awesome ice cream?

A Beautiful Ice Cream Moment

This is what I had for breakfast this morning: It's what I've had for breakfast for the past 4 days now. It's so yummy, so nutritious, so not creamy and caramely and cold,
so....
so....
so not this:




While Mr, Hotness and I were looking for our new home we drove all over North East New Jersey, South East New York, and South West Connecticut. While in Connecticut we happened upon a Friendy's. I think I scared poor Mr. Hot-stuff when I grabbed his arm, squealed in delight, and shouted, "Friendly's, Friendly's, pull in, pull in, we have to eat at Friendly's, I have to have a Reeses Pieces sundae, it's HUGE and I have to have one. Please, please, please!!!"

For some reason I have very intense reactions to childhood memories and poor Mr. Hotness is often caught unawares by them. In this case it was my memory of Friendly's, an ice cream shop and diner that was a special place to go when I lived in Saratoga, NY. They had this sundae that came in a ginormous goblet and try as one might, one could never finish one of those bad boys by themselves. Trust me, I tried many times. It was like an obsession with me. I had this dream that someday I would be able to order, eat, and finish the most yummy sundae of all time: The Friendly's five scoop Reeses Pieces sundae with fudge and peanut butter swirls and little chocolate sprinkles. Yes someday I would be the David who slays the mighty giant.

That day was upon me and it was time to try again...

And I won!

I won!

I won!

I won!

Never give up on your dreams, people, because eventually you will be ready, and they will come true. And you will be so proud of yourself that you will go back and eat that dream again and again... oh yes, and again!

And then you will have to drink V8 for breakfast everyday for the next 20 years to recover from that dream.
'

But it will be soooooo worth it!

But Mom, You Promised

Yes, I promised we would make gingerbread houses this year. Next year I will just promise to eat more ice cream instead. Or maybe I will promise to spend all of our Christmas money on these easy gingerbread house kits instead of on Christmas presents.

But nooooo, this year I made a promise. A promise that required a double batch of cookie dough, a salmonella batch of royal icing, and letting Mr. Hotness buy all the candy (Have you ever let your man loose in the bulk candy bins before? 12, count them, 12 different kinds of candy. Of course by the time we actually got around to making the blasted, I mean, adorable little things we only had 5 kinds left) and one heckuva mess.

BEHOLD THE MESS:

Who would have thought that something as innocent as cookies would require such dangerous tools?

Hard candy stained glass windows? Baaaaad idea.

2D instead of 3d candy houses? Brilliant idea that kept me from having a total nervous breakdown in front of my kids.

The candy houses are cute, they taste way better than the ones that come in a box and look way better than the graham cracker ones we used to make. Were they worth it? Ask me after I finish this pint of Ben and Jerry's.

Dave Mattews Band Magic Brownies: Black Raspberry Ice Cream Swirled with Sweet Cream Ice Cream & Fudgy Brownies
(And you might want to wait till my eye stops twitching and my blood pressure goes back down too.)

(P.S. I don't like brownies, as a general rule, but the brownies in this are buttery and chewy and so so good.)

Quick Recap on the Crazy

"Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don't worry, be happy. Don't worry, be happy now. Ooooooo Oo Oo"

No worries, I am happy once again. Friday was a really bad day for me. It was one of those days where everything was coming to a climax, a million new things were starting, I was being "abandoned" once again, and expectations were not met, and I broke a little under the strain. Saturday was much better, Sunday was fantastic, and now I feel I can keep on goin'.

My DJ sister recently asked me what the friggonomics has been going on over here. Well, sis, let me give you the quick and speedy version in which much will be left out:

We have had two teenage boys living with us 5 days and 5nights every week for the past month because their family had become homeless after their dad lost his job. It was an amazing experience that I plan to post about when I have time to do it justice. The great news is that the dad found work, they were able to find a new place to live and now they are together once again just in time for Thanksgiving.

For safety, while having the boys here (I'm an ultra paranoid mom when it comes to my kids), I had the boys sleep downstairs and had all my kids sleep upstairs in the living room which is right next to our bedroom. My living room often smelt like sweaty bodies because of this. So gross. But the kids were absolute angels about it and never complained (even though I did). In fact they had fun making tents out of blankets to sleep in every night.

Mr. Hotness has been doing a lot of traveling this month. It was all approved, even encouraged, by me. I just didn't realize that each trip was going to happen so closely, and so close to Thanksgiving, and that I would have 2 extra kids here either. So, Mr Hot was in Boise to guest lecture at BSU and spend time with friends and family. He was gone for 5 days. He came home for 2 days and then left for another 2 1/2 days to go see the apple cup with a really good friend of his. He came home yesterday and left this morning to LA for a big job interview and won't get back until late Tuesday night.

So it has been a little crazy around here. You might think that we would be looking forward to spending a nice, quiet holiday at home, right? Naaaaaaaw. We are suckers for mayhem. That is why I only have 3 days to prepare for having a grand total of 23 people living here for the Thanksgiving weekend. In families with big families all you have to do is invite 2 siblings for Thanksgiving and you get a lot of bodies in the head count. =)

BRING IT ON!

Really Very Good

Sweet Mother Dairy of Ice Cream! This stuff is soooooooo good. So good. Oh so so so so good. They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and I'm here to say that you should never judge an ice cream by its flavor name. For years now I have been passing up Haagen Dazs Dulce De Leche ice cream simply because it was called Dulce De Leche. Sweet of milk is the literal translation but it also means caramel. I like caramel. I really like good caramel. I adore really good caramel. So why didn't I try this ice cream sooner? Because it is called Dulce De Leche and even though I logically know that it is caramel my brain-taste-to-tongue-memory-reactions don't think of caramel. They think of either sweet milk or some weird Mexican caramel wannabe. Yeah, my brain is weird. But, even if it was called Caramel Ice Cream I might have passed it up because caramel in ice cream comes in all shades of not good. Like the caramel in Breyers Overload Waffle Cone (Sorry Breyers, but that is bad caramel).

In Haagen Dazs Dulce De Leche you will find nothing but really very good caramel. Even the caramel flavored ice cream that encases the thick ribbons of really very good caramel is really very good caramel flavored ice cream. Now you might think it would be a caramel overdose to have caramel running through caramel ice cream, but think again. The ice cream flavor is just subtle enough to enhance the thick, rich, luscious, golden, melt in your mouth, caramel ribbohaqhgiertgqpegja. Oops. Sorry. I was drooling on the keyboard and my fingers slipped. Excuse me, I think I need to go stick my head in the freezer... you know, the freezer that currently holds my second pint of Haagen Dazs Dulce De Leche Really Very Good Caramel ice cream.

Public Service Announcement

This is not a test, I repeat this is not a test. This is a public service announcement from your bloggy ice cream information station. This is a world wide alert to inform you of the presence of a new holiday peppermint ice cream on the market. Warning: this stuff is so amazingly good it is sure to be sold quickly from your shelves, denying you the ability to drift away on rich, white chocolaty clouds of peppermint goodness, if you do not rush to your nearest public freezer and buy all you can RIGHT NOW!!!! This is indeed 'cause for alarm. You should be grabbing your wallets and running to the door in a state of sheer panic in order to acquire this new life blood of holiday ice cream flavors. I repeat, this is not a test.

Haagen Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream

"Rich white chocolate ice cream is blended with crunchy dark and white chocolate peppermint bark and peppermint candy pieces." This isn't as candy-sweet as the usual peppermint ice creams but it has a for-grown-ups-only richness to it from the white chocolate that makes it a seriously special treat.



I was serious about my warning. I'm giving you exactly 1 hour to get to the store before I go buy them all. Well? What are you waiting for? RUUUUUUUN!

The Yummy Box

See this box? This beautiful, vibrant, red, Good Humor Variety Pack, never ending, ice cream box? This is my happy box. Just like the picture on the front, it's like having my own personal ice cream truck delivering non-stop smiles from my freezer. If you haven't ever experienced this magical box, I highly suggest that do so, and soon.

Oh, and so far I have 3 garbage bags full and ready for donating, one room gutted and clean, and laundry almost completely done so that I can donate more than half of all clothing in the house. It feels so good (or is that the ice cream talking?).

Ice Cream Winners

The names are in and the free ice cream winners are (I had my kids yell out random numbers that I assigned to each name):

Richelle
Cellista

Caffienated Cowgirl

Sarah

Leslie (sounds like you could use this)

Ordinary Mom

Lisa

Erin

Cynthia

Lucy Van Pelt

Thanks for playing, and don't forget to send me your mailing address! (lizzyvance at gmail dot com) And, not to pressure you or anything, may I highly suggest you find and try some of these fun flavors of Klondike bars with your coupon. When you click on the individual flavors there is a window where you can type in your zip code and it will tell you the nearest store that carries that flavor. I've actually never had a Klondike Bar before. I'm not sure why... Well I just tried the Heath and Reese's flavors last night and I gotta say, "I think I'm hooked!" But I will post more about this new experience later... I still need to try and find Caramel Pretzel. Heck, I just might try them all... After all, good experimentation require complete thoroughness. =)

*

I need your opinion now. I'm new to this whole giveaway business and I need to know, should I have had a longer cut off time for this? I know I sometimes don't get around to blogs as often as I would like and maybe some of you are sad that you didn't get here in time for this? Or do you prefer to know the end result quickly? I've entered several giveaways and then forget which ones I've entered and where because I had to wait weeks to find out who won. Let me know what you think.

*

In other news: Sheesh, it is amazing to me how difficult blogging (and everything else) has become now that I have Cheeks. His Parent-Pleasure-Sensor is always set to high and he sounds the alarm anytime I start doing anything that feels even remotely good. I eat, he cries. I read, he cries. I pee, he cries. I sit, he cries. And when he cries I have four little messengers that feel the need to tap me incessantly in order to make sure I know that the baby, laying right next to me, is crying. It makes me want to cry.

Meet My New Best Friend/Drug Dealer

(GIVEAWAY AT THE END)

I just received some of the coolest mail ever! No, really, literally the coolest mail ever. I got ice cream... in the mail. So cool!

When it comes to ice cream it's not what you know, it's WHO you know, and I know J--. See his pic? I've never actually seen the guy so I had to guess a lot when drawing him. Anyway, J-- contacted me recently about some new ice cream products that I might want to review on my blog. J-- works for Unilever Ice Cream who owns Breyers, Good Humor, Popsicle, and Klondike... J-- has my dream job. They have several new products and were kind enough to send me a few to try. Years ago I dreamed of blogging for money, but I'll willingly blog for ice cream too. =)

Before I tell you about the ice creams I should preface by saying that these products are part of Unilever's goal to provide healthier options in ice cream. I am NOT a fan of diet, sugar free, low fat, or try-to-be-skinnier foods. I am also brutally honest when it comes to ice cream.


First up is Breyers Double Churn Fat Free Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

I gotta say this was the first chocolate ice cream that I've ever REALLY liked. Instead of tasting like frozen dirt it tasted soft, creamy, and good. Kind of like the difference between a Hershey's chocolate bar and Swiss chocolate. The only problem were the brownie chunks. They tasted dry. There is a Double Churn Fat Free French Chocolate, though, that doesn't have the brownie chunks and I bet that is just as heavenly. In fact I plan on buying some to try. If so, then Breyers will be the first people to make a chocolate ice cream that I like or even (dare I say it?) love.


Popsicle has come out with their own version of the original Dippin' Dots. Little tiny frozen balls of ice cream that roll around on your tongue. These were good. I can't say they were great, but they were good. I will say this for them, the kids loved them and anything that makes me look cool to my kids is great in my book. Something about tiny little balls of ice cream had my kids giggling last night as I kept pouring more into their bowls. And that is a benefit right there: no scoop needed. Just shake the box up, open, and pour into your bowl. And a little went a long way so don't let the small box turn you off.


Slim-a-Bear 100 calorie ice cream bars. If you want to enjoy some ice cream without over doing it then I have to give the English Toffee bars 2 thumbs up. The French Vanilla didn't do anything for me but the Toffee flavor was yummy, I felt satisfied, had a pleasant flavor in my mouth long after eating it and I had no desire to keep going back for more. I've tested this phenomenon 3 times now and it holds steady. I'm satiated and happy and don't need to binge. This did not happen with the Klondike Sundae Cones where I ate the entire contents of a 9 cone box in 3 hours (YUM!).

Now, like any good dealer, J-- has given me some freebies to give to my friends. So if you want some free ice cream just tell me what your favorite Breyers, Klondike, Good Humor, or Popsicle ice cream is. I will pick 10 random commentors at midnight tomorrow and announce the winners on Saturday.

And lest you think I'm not following through on my giveaways... I've picked my Pay it Forward people... finally.

Michal
Becki
and Fallfleur

Please email me your mailing address (lizzyvance at gmail dot com) so I can ship you your surprise (and you will get some free ice cream too).

Idaho for Ice Cream

I told Mr. Hotness that I had to come to Idaho to see my family and let the kids build good memories with their cousins... and we are, really. I've stayed up late every night talking and laughing with my siblings, I've been properly embarrassing myself in front of my baby brother's fiancee, the kids are forgetting how to take baths or use utensils when eating, and I'm wondering if I can ever go back to real life again... it's all good. But I have to admit that there was an ulterior motive to my gas guzzling vacation, and it is ice cream. Not just any ice cream, mind you, but one of my all time favorite ice creams that you just can't get anywhere else these days except at the Super Wal-Mart in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Ooooooh, sweet, buttery, graham-crackery ribbons of crust laying side by side with just the right amount of nectar sweet strawberry glaze, encased in a cheesecake ice cream that actually tastes a bit like cheesecake (and not like an overly chemicalized vanilla). I bought two, one for my sister's house and one for my mom's so that no matter where I was sleeping there would always be one waiting for me in the freezer. And I'm not sharing.

800 miles divided by 18 miles/gallon x $4.50/gallon for 2 half gallons of Breyer's Sarah Lee Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream @ $3.50 each = you do the math.

Yeah, you are probably right, I'd better buy some more to make the equation equal out.

Pregnant Confessions

Father forgive me, for...

1. In the past 3 months my children have eaten enough cold cereal to feed a small 3rd world country for a year.
2. I managed to put off packing my hospital bag by deciding it was suddenly VERY important that we re-decorate the bathroom.
3. I made my husband knock on my neighbor's door at 9pm to borrow a drill for the bathroom re-do (It was THAT important).
4. I ate 9 Klondike ice cream cones in one day... all by myself.
5. 4 times now I've promised the nurse that I would leave a pee sample before I left the office... and I never did.
6. I skipped church last Sunday (but it was worth it as I managed to accumulate 1 1/2 hours of sleep during that time.
7. I have eaten lunch meat, feta cheese, shellfish, and lots of other No-No foods. BUT I didn't color my hair like I wanted to, so I'm hoping that counts for something.
8. I have decided to adopt the DVD player as a family member to rationalize the amount of time my youngest child spends with it.
9. Showers have become optional for me.
10. I just licked chocolate off my keyboard (it fell off my Drumstick ice cream cone).

Yet Another Internet Addiction

This is a sketch I drew of Alfred Hitchcock when I was 16. I have had a love for all things Alfred Hitchcock ever since my mom first introduced me to one of his movies. In fact, this sketch if from a photo of him on the back cover of a book of mystery thrillers that I was reading the summer my dad was dying from cancer. I wrote the only real diary entry about my father's illness on the inside of that book's dust jacket.

But this isn't about my father. This is about Alfred. Alfred and my new internet addiction. Remember when I swore off internet TV? I was good. I kept away from it for 4 months. But then my sister had to go and tell me that the entire 4th season of LOST was online. My desire to stick to my promise had to do battle with my desire to save money, and watching LOST online was a heckuva lot cheaper (and convenient) than renting it. So, I caved and watched LOST. But then I finished it and forgot to say my prayer right after (you remember the one asking Heavenly Father to break my computer if I watched internet TV?). But I refused to watch something stupid, and stupid seemed to be the only thing available. UNTIL.... until I was browsing NBC and noticed the Alfred Hitchcock Hour on their list of full episode offerings. In my defense, I don't really consider this as watching TV. No, it is more like renewing an age old love affair. Shhhhh, no one tell Mr. Hotness, please. These fun little episodes are just as enjoyable as a packed, frozen, ice cream cone. I just love Alfred's dry, deadpan humor and the way he pokes fun at the show's sponsers. So, here I am, on my pregnant butt, eating frozen novelty ice cream bars, loving Mr. Hotness for keeping me well stocked, and loving my man Alfred for helping me get through these last few weeks of preggo-ness. Thank you, Alfred, darling. And you too, Mr Hotness!

Can you find the episode that has a very young Robert Redford in it?

'Tiss The Season

Last night, after putting the kids to bed, I ran out the door to return some movies and to redeem my Baskin Robbins free birthday scoop coupon. I was so excited to see that they had Baseball Nut in their cases. Baseball Nut: "A summer favorite since 1961, this homerun combines Vanilla ice cream, loaded with cashews and a black raspberry ribbon."

Several months ago I ran to BR for this very flavor in an intense pregnancy craving moment (Remember how I couldn't eat ice cream for awhile there? This was the first day that baby was going to let me eat it again) only to learn that it is a seasonal flavor. This ticked me off. It isn't as if people's tongues change with the seasons. If I like Baseball nut in June, I like it just as much in January. But who am I to fight against the machine? So I waited. And the waiting paid off. Not only did they have the flavor but they had just opened a fresh new tub of it (and there wasn't a pile of nasty old ice cream from the tub before sitting on the top waiting to go in my cone).

I threw my coupon on the counter, grabbed my cone with a hurried, "Thank you!" and ran to the car. And I did something I don't think I've really ever done. I sat in my parked car and ate while listening to the radio... all by myself. I didn't care if people saw me eating, or wondered why I was just sitting there with a goofy smile as I licked my coldness. I just sat and enjoyed a small moment of quite, tasty bliss. Ahhhhhh, it was good. =)

Happy Baseball Nut season, everyone.

Oh, and the winner has been picked for Scribbit's monthly Writeaway contest (for which I was the judge this month). If you need some fun reading, go check out the great stories all written on the theme of "shoes."

More Freezer Stocking

If you read in the news tomorrow about a lady's frozen body being found in the ice cream section of a certain grocery store please let my husband know that I've been found. Thank you.

Notice in the fine print it says "Limit 2." This is why I have lots of children. I'll give them each 5 bucks and two pints to hold. And I'll bring several disguises so we can go through multiple times without getting caught. "Who wants to wear the pink wig and polyester Mu mu?" *insert maniacal laughing* Yeah, ice cream does this to me.

Conference and Ice Cream Reviews

Did everyone have a good weekend? I hope so. My weekend was very nice. I sat around doing nothing, I let my children run around like heathens, I let my house get even messier, and then I listened to conference and ate ice cream. Conference was so wonderful and actually quite humbling and motivating. For those of you who don't know what "Conference Weekend" means to us "Mormons" I will elucidate. Twice a year the leaders of our church assemble and speak to us. They travel all around the world all year long speaking to churches, building temples, meeting with foreign and home dignitaries, administering relief aid, and doing other great things, but at General Conference they speak to everyone. Each speaker is allowed to speak on whatever they feel inspired to so there is a wide variety of things that are addressed. This was also a special conference because, after President Hinckley's death, a new Presidency was presented and sustained. Thomas S. Monson is the new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and he is one heck-uva guy. At the very ending of conference he was telling all these funny stories and had everyone laughing, and right as I started to think that maybe he was going too far he suddenly turned all his funny anecdotes into a powerful message about creating love and joy in our families. One of the talks that seems to be getting the most attention was Russell M. Ballard's talk to young mothers. It was a fabulous talk that aptly captured the humor, the hardship, and the responsibilities of motherhood. It was because of this talk that I woke up happy, bathed all my kids, folded all my laundry, fed everyone, got the kids to school and went to the store to buy fruits and veggies for the week, all before 9am. Anything that can make me do all that with a smile on my face that early in the morning is something good. I can't wait for all the talks to be available for reading and listening to.



And now, time to review all that luscious ice cream:


B&J's Strawberry Cheesecake. You can read my extra comment on this one in the sidebar. It has a scrumptiously thick swirl of crunchy, sugary, buttery graham cracker crust through it that makes it hard to stop eating. YUM!

B&J's Pistachio Pistachio. My husband doesn't understand why I like this one. It isn't very sweet and there is no chocolate or candy in it. It is a subtle pistachio ice cream with whole pistachios throughout. To be enjoyed only by the most avid pistachio lovers. Mmmmmm. I love it.

Haagen Daz's Vanilla Honey & Granola frozen yogurt. This is good, but nothing to write home about. The granola is in small bit rather than big chunks so you get these odd specks of oatmeal throughout the ice cream. I think I would rather just pour my own granola and honey over a bowl of Dreyer's vanilla or caramel flavored ice cream.

Haagen Daz's Mango Sorbet. Have you tried it yet? Come on people, what is the point of me finding the world's best ice creams if you aren't going to try it? I even tried a different brand of Mango Sorbet and it didn't even come close to this. On of my favorite restaurants of all time puts a scoop of this over fruit salad and it is roll your eyes to the back of your head good. It just never ceases to amaze me how much flavor they have packed into this amazing stuff. BUY IT!

Breyer's Chocolate Crackle. Um, yeah, this is Breyer's all natural vanilla with ribbons of Magic Shell through it. Not good. Breyer's natural vanilla is made to be used with other natural ingredients, not fake processed chocolate, so it just didn't work. Also, I like my Magic Shell as a topping, not a stir-in. And if you are going to use Magic Shell, do yourself a favor and find the Heath Bar Magic Shell (So far I've only seen it at WalMart or Winco Foods). It is THE BOMB! But don't put it on Breyer's Natural Vanilla, put it on Dreyer's vanilla.

From Apologies To Ice Cream

I am so sorry, and am here on my humble knees hoping you will forgive me. In the past two months I have been awarded quite a lot of lovely awards from people that I am honored to be noticed by. And how do I return the compliment? By doing nothing. I kept telling myself, "Oooo, I'll post about that tomorrow." Then I started thinking I would accept them all at once. Then I couldn't remember who had awarded me what and when. If you've been bothered by the fact that I haven't accepted or acknowledged an award please let me know and send me a link to the post where you gave it to me and I will make sure to post about it. I'M SORRY!

Also, I've been tagged twice now for the 7 random things about me meme. I do remember that Tama from The Twisted Hare tagged me, but I can't remember who else did. Please let me know so I can edit this with a link to your blog.

Hopefully you will forgive this addle brained pregnant woman her bloggy faux pas.

7 Random things that happened yesterday:

1. While blogging I heard shouts of, "High-yah!" and "Take that!" only to find that my kids were having a wipey war. They used a whole package of baby wipes and were throwing them at each other. Didn't I say I wasn't going to be on the computer when the kids are awake anymore? I consider myself well reminded.
2. My daughter ran by me in nothing but a diaper... a diaper that had a smiley face drawn on the back of it. Really, even if I have a bad head cold, I need to stay off the computer.
3. There is a matching smiley face drawn on the back of my living room chair and Monster Man seems to be hiding from me. Don't worry, I fully intend to renew my promise to stay off the computer while they are awake.
4. I started sketching out the plans for Cookie and Sweet Terror's painting. I am going to paint both the girls as mermaids. I'm excited for it and hope I can make myself start and finish it in less than 2 months.
5. I have a killer head cold. Seriously killer.
6. When DSSH hubby came home and saw me miserably cooking dinner while sneezing, moaning, coughing, and constantly mumbling, "Now what was I doing? Oh, yeah..." he asked if there were anything he could do to help. I told him, "Yeah, you could rotate the laundry for me, get the kids to do their chores, unload the dishwasher, set the table and finish dinner for me." He paused and then quietly said, "I meant, is there anything I can do for you that I want to do?"
7. Luckily, DSSH was able to buy his way out of marital discord with two pints of Ben and Jerry's and several boxes of flavored Wheat Thins.

Neapolitan

Neapolitan ice cream. It was the nemesis of my youth. It was the only bad part about birthday's. It was created to punish me. I can still remember every prayer, "Please, please don't let it be Neapolitan. Please make it just be vanilla, please, please." Parents bought Neapolitan thinking that it would make everyone happy, a flavor to suit everyone. Well, it didn't. Only 10% of children actually prefer chocolate over vanilla and it is even less for strawberry. Most parents made you take a big scoop that had all three flavors. Occasionally you would get a parent who would ask, "Alright, what flavor do you want?" That was actually worse because by the time I got to them there was only chocolate and strawberry left and I simply couldn't stomach either one. Chocolate tastes like dirt to me and strawberry always had those nasty, stringy, little specks of real frozen strawberries in it. I can honestly say that I have NEVER once in my life ever been responsible for buying the offending medley myself.... oops... well.... o.k., that used to be true. It was true until about 5:21pm last night. I was grocery shopping with the kids and I had a coupon, it was a coupon that said I could get one half gallon of cheap, store brand ice cream for just a buck. 99 cents. I was thinking I would grab one for the kids. They only had 5 flavors of the cheap stuff and none of them sounded good (I don't know why I cared since I was buying it for the kids). Neapolitan sounded good. WHAT?!?!?!?! It did, it sounded good and so I grabbed it and put it in my cart and headed straight to the counter in a bit of a daze. There was a very very tiny voice whispering, "What are you doing, you crazy lady? Put it back, put it back!!!!" But my belly was happily humming to itself and singing, "Gonna eat some Neapolitan, and love it, and love it. Gonna eat some Neapolitan and love it till it's gone."

With the key still in the lock, my arms full of groceries, the kids run past me to watch their new DVD and I let them run. As soon as I'm alone I pull my nasty ice cream from its clinging plastic bag. The box is always hard to open on these cheap brands and it rips a little in the corner. The scoop is big, worth 4 single scoops at least, and it isn't only vanilla. No, this scoop has the perfect layered effect of strawberry (it has lots of chunks), vanilla, and the same old dirty chocolate from my childhood. It glistens because it is soft from the drive home so I must hurry and eat before it melts. This is good, this is sooooooooo good. I lick my spoon after every bite and I scrape up every last drop with my spoon. The kids haven't had any, and I don't think I'm going to share. They can eat my nice name brand stuff if they want 'cause this is all I will be eating for the next little while. Oh yes, I am DEFINITELY pregnant.

I Know What I Want For Christmas

Is it too early to start making my Christmas List for Santa? I found this cute little Ice Cream Cozy over at Cuteable's blog. She always finds the coolest things. Anyway, after finishing the two pints of B&J's that I bought yesterday my hands are really cold and I'm suddenly thinking that the Ice Cream Cozy is BRILLIANT!!!

Que Hora Es?

What time is it when the bottom of your feet are green, the water in your bucket is black, your laundry room is actually empty, and your knees are about to buckle?

TIME FOR ICE CREAM!!!

This place is almost as clean as it was when we moved in. I'm pooped!

Prepare Yourself For Lots Of Ice Cream

My son, Pablo, hates making mistakes. When he was younger he would have a total melt down if one of his letters wasn't written perfect, or if one of the eyes on his smiley face was too big. Last year he was taking a writing class and before he went in the classroom I would have to say, "And remember what we say about mistakes?" And he would nod his head and respond, "Mistakes are good!" then smile and give me thumbs up. Well, folks, I am here to say it once again. In fact mistakes aren't just good, they are FANTASTIC, BRILLIANT, GRRRRREAT! and if I could find the guy who made a particular mistake last weekend, I would kiss him! (don't tell DSSH)

I haven't had much ice cream since I've come back from Idaho because I've just been too busy to sit and enjoy anything. Monday was a very busy day full of gruesome back breaking spring cleaning (I know I'm late) and DSSH could tell that I was in need of some serious ice cream. He packed us all in the car and saved me from having to make dinner by taking us out for dinner. Afterword he pulled up to a Safeway and said, "I'll sit here with the kids while you go get some ice cream. I slowly dragged myself in the store but with little hope of finding anything I like because every time I find a favorite they stop making it. As I peruse the Breyers section something catches my eye. There is just a corner of a carton peeking out from the shadows behind several cartons of Breyers Fried Ice Cream (NOT a favorite) and I think, "No, it couldn't..... but what if..." I open the freezer door, step onto the bottom shelf and pull myself up (No I am not above crawling into a freezer in public) and there, hiding all by itself, is a beautiful carton of Breyers Sarah Lee Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. I am giddy to the point of hyperventilating. I desperately search the paper tags on the shelf to see if there is a spot for it, hoping that they are once again carrying my favorite flavor. They aren't. Somehow, somewhere, this ice cream accidentally got shipped to my Safeway and the store stocker didn't know where to put it so he just crammed it in with the Fried Ice Cream (bless him).

I was about to rush out of the store with my heaven sent Sarah Lee when my wits returned and I realized that I would need back up ice cream, you know, like a filler to help make the Sarah Lee last longer. Again, there wasn't anything jumping out at me, and then... I saw them...

Now, I have to preface this with admitting the fact that I am a hypocrite. Every year I self righteously announce my disgust that they put out Halloween and Christmas decorations WAY too soon. They only do it to make us buy more, to extend the shopping season, etc. I show my disdain by refusing to buy anything Holidayish until AFTER the holiday is over and I can get it all on sale. But, when I saw that Dreyers has followed suit and prematurely put out their holiday ice cream flavors, I just couldn't restrain myself. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking I hurriedly grabbed a carton of pumpkin ice cream and peppermint stick ice cream. I rushed to the checkout and refused to make eye contact with anyone. DSSH knows I'm crazy, so I was just reinforcing that knowledge by skipping out to the car giggling about my secret ice cream discoveries. I was like the Grinch, clutching and cackling about how I was going to steal a little bit of Christmas early this year. BwAHAHAHAHAHA.



This isn't unhealthy, is it?