Top 5 Favorite Desserts

I love desserts. LOVE desserts. I decided to make a list of my top 5 favorites.

5. Fried Ice Cream from Chi Chi's. (are they even around anymore? Perhaps I just liked wearing the sombrero and the way they'd sing "so it's your birthday, so it's your birthday, happy birthday to our guest, Chi Chi's Wishes you the best! Ole!" as much as I liked the dessert. It was a package deal.)

4. Very Best Chocolate Cake from J. Alexander's. This is served WARM, a la mode. You must close your eyes and have complete silence when you take your first bite to truly savor the experience.

3. Chocolate Cobbler from the hospital cafeteria where my mother-in-law works. Don't laugh. It's true. I'm serious--I have never tasted such deliciousness. It has just the right ratio of crunchy crusty cobbleryness to ooey gooey chocolateness. I even enthusiastically bought one from the hospital to take to a Christmas party. Unfortunately, it comes in a cardboard baking dish and everyone made fun of it and called it "Cardboard Cobbler".

2. Chocolate Ganache cake from The Puffy Muffin bakery. I already have Maddy rehearsing her line to Michael for my upcoming birthday. "Mommy loves the chocolate ganache cake from the Puffy Muffin." Crossing my fingers she gets it right...would hate for her to mangle the line and have me end up with "Muffins from the Publix bakery" or some other such tragic birthday dessert. [You caught me! Alterior motives in the blog...I know Michael will read this and then have no excuses come September...]

1. Cookie Monster from Cheddar's restaurant. You have to look long & hard to find one of these restaurants in my area, but when you do, you'll never want to leave. Here's the description from the Cheddar's website:

THE COOKIE MONSTER WOW! OUR LEGENDARY DESSERT Homemade chocolate chip cookie cooked in a skillet, topped with premium vanilla ice cream, homemade hot fudge, fresh whipped cream, chopped nuts and a cherry. Fresh baked, so please allow a few extra minutes.

My college friend Brandi & I used to go to Cheddar's a lot. Being typical cheap/poor college students, we didn't have a lot of extra cash for eating out, but we knew the value of the cookie monster. It's a dessert meant to share because it's rather large--I mean, it comes in a skillet for crying out loud! But, it's really good, so you want to eat it all. In order to make cookie monsters a reality in our lives, we'd each order a cup of soup or a side salad instead of an entree so we could afford the extra room in our stomachs and our wallets to have our very own cookie monster!


EDITED: WAIT! I just did a little web research on Chi Chi's. Apparently, they closed down completely in 2003 following a Hepatitis A outbreak. That's a little frightening. Maybe I need a new #5.

And, finally, a note to my readers: Have I missed one? You can comment and let me know YOUR favorite dessert. I know you're out there...and I know you have a favorite dessert and I know you have a computer since you're reading this, so you have everything you need to post a comment. Give a shout out to your favorite sugar concoction! Show your appreciation to the culinary world of refined ingredients!

Only in the South...

Feeling a little hungry?

This was the menu board from the Meat & Three we ate lunch at after church on Sunday. Notice the offering on the bottom left hand column.

What a deal! Pig's Feet and 2 Vegetables for only $7.85.

And, you may also notice you can get "extra pig feet" for an additional $4.25 in case the first two don't fill you up.

Of course, you also know that you're in the south when Macaroni & Cheese counts as a vegetable.

Vacation? What Vacation?

Aaaaahhhhh...the beach.....a vacation.....a good read in the sand....hanging poolside, feet in the water....just soaking up the rest & relaxation, right?

WRONG!!!

When my family goes to the beach, it's competition, it's sweat, it's grit, it's determination, it's ambition, and it's F-U-N!

Think "Dan in Real Life" on steroids. Their family did the group togetherness...family aerobics, talent show, games. My family does all this...but with a higher purpose in mind. Trophies & Medals are at stake!!!

The week starts off with a trophy presentation for the winner of the NCAA March Madness bracket winner. This year, my 5 month old nephew Max won. It was amazing, really, to see a rookie picker take the trophy this year. He gets to keep the traveling trophy until next year when a new winner is crowned. Everybody else received runner's up certificates.

The next night, we began Beach Olympics. The teams were decided beforehand and were "evenly distributed". My brother Keith was the head of the IOC so he had planned ahead with multiple activities/competitions that involved all members of each team. There were 5 teams of 4: The Celtics, Mad-JX, Beach Bum Bombers, Superstars and the Crocs.

Each day of vacation, there were several different activities that we had to do in order to earn points for your team. Jump Rope contest, Water balloon toss, Football Throw, Sling Ball were just a few of the activities that could win your team points. Medals were awarded to the winning team on the last day of vacation.

MAD-JX the winning team. In his victory speech, John said, "At first, I didn't have a lot of confidence in my team, but it turned out good in the end."

Thursday night, we had an "Unconventional Talent Show". Participation was mandatory, but somehow my brother David found a loophole (he's the newest attorney in the family) and sat it out. We had dance routines, songs, a poetry reading, juggling (Keith called his entry "various asundry"), trumpet playing, "Peek a boo" from Will, and a SNL-styled parody of the movie "Akeelah and the Bee".

"Clayla and Bethla and the Bee"

Dramatic Reading: "The Road Less Traveled"

Dad sang "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"

Craig & I singing the "Family Ties" theme song (very sincerely, I might add)

Trumpet & Dance combo

However, just so you don't think there's no depth to us, my mother did coordinate a "Virtue of the Day" activity. She assigned several people a virtue/topic to do a devotion on and this was to inspire "virtue spotting" the next day as we watched for people to demonstrate these traits. For instance, "Patience" was the virtue for the first day as we all traveled to Destin. "Kindness" was mid-week. Two of my nephews also got baptised in the pool!

Add to what you've already read a luau, outlet shopping, swimming, playing hot box on the beach, white & khaki family pictures at Seaside, LCR tournament, a play at Watercolor resort and you've got one full week!
After all that, I always say we need a real vacation after the family vacation to rest up.

Thanks for a fun week, family! Let's do it again next year!

Rainy Days & Mondays (and flat tires) always get me down...

Just as the Carpenters song goes, it was indeed a rainy Monday, but I decided to make the most of it. Michael left early for work, so I got myself up & ready, got John up & on the school bus, and got Maddy & Will fed, dressed and in the van by 7:45 A.M. to make it to my favorite aerobics class at the Y. Talk about ambitious!

Speaking of talking, my van started talking to me before I even got out of the neighborhood to tell me that I had a flat tire. Apparently, I ran over a large screw someway, somehow, somewhere.

So, instead of sweating it up and burning the major calories at aerobics, I spent my morning at Goodyear.

Lucky for me, there was a Target right next door, so I was able to shop there, oops, I mean, wait there. The cost of patching the actual tire was only about $20 or so, but if you add on the cost of all the "completely-necessary-I-can't-live-without-this" items I bought at Target....well, it just adds up to be the most expensive patched tire you've ever seen.

EDITED on TUESDAY: I was reading back through my posts of the last week and saw the one where the GOODYEAR blimp went right over my house. Remember that exciting day? Well, maybe it was trying to tell me something....remember when I said it was guided, as if by destiny, right over my house? It was a sign.

Baseball now has something to offer the ladies as well...

Have you ever attended a baseball game, feeling enthusiastic about the team, but less than enthralled about your split ends? Flat hair got you feeling down and unable to do the wave? Did the 7th inning stretch not mean so much to you in light of your dark roots?

Well, no more, ladies, no more!

There is a solution. And why somebody didn't think of this sooner, I'll never know.

We went to a baseball game tonight with some friends and you'll never guess who we saw there giving haircuts during the game: OUR HAIRDRESSER! Sweet Hannah from Great Clips (yes, I get my hair cut at Great Clips) was there, giving haircuts for charity. A $5 donation to the Children's Hospital got you into see Hannah for a little mid-game haircut.

Kirsten had been wanting to get in to see her soon and I was planning to take Maddy this week, so we just killed two birds with one stone. It couldn't have worked out better! Too bad we missed part of the game while we were doing this, but it was a sacrifice worthwhile. ;o)

"Before"

"During"

"After"

Kirsten gets in on the haircut action

And...then there were fireworks after the game. My kids are incapable of watching any fireworks without fingers in their ears, but they enjoy them anyways.

All Things High School Musical

I'm officially in countdown mode for HSM3's debut at the big screen. October 24 is the big day and I am a big fan. If I were buying school supplies for myself, you better believe I'd have a Trapper Keeper with Troy on the front of it. Oh, what's that? They don't make Trapper Keeper's anymore? Well, whatever--I've said that I was born too early...this could've been my "thing" when I was growing up, so now instead I live vicariously through my children's HSM experiences, pretending to be there for them, but if you know me well, I'm actually there for ME.

A bit of a reality check, however...one day I casually and humbly mentioned to someone that I thought I would make a good Gabriella or Sharpay in a local production of HSM. They replied, "it's much more likely that you'd be cast as Gabriella's MOTHER." Thanks.

Am I the only one who didn't know this?

OK, my apologies in advance. This one is going to bore half of my reading audience. So, to the other 3 of you, I have a great tip!!! I think I've mentioned before how much I dislike packing school lunches. My mom has said this to me as well, (bear in mind she had 5 lunches to pack every night for years), so it must be a genetic thing. I wish I had inherited her love for ironing instead. ANYWAYS...

YOU CAN FREEZE PB&J SANDWICHES! My friend Ann from the mommysecrets blog gave this tip the other day. I can spend a few minutes making enough sandwiches to last a couple weeks, then put them in baggies and into the freezer. Pull one out each morning and it defrosts and is ready to eat by lunchtime.

Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Q: Ellen, that sounds like it would be soggy. Is it soggy?
Signed, Anonymous in Baton Rouge
A: Oh, I thought it would be too! I was so very mistaken. Skeptic that I am, I tried it myself before making John succumb to a soggy sandwich and it was just delightful.

2. Q: Ellen, how long does it take you to make these sandwiches? Is it really timesaving?
Signed, Anonymous in Toledo
A: Yes, it is really timesaving. I spend 20 minutes one night and I can easily make enough sandwiches to last 2 weeks or so. I make the same mess whether I make one PB&J or whether I make 20 PB&J's, so I am saving time on the end as well.

3. Q: Ellen, you're just wonderful. How do you do it all?
Signed, Anonymous in Jackson.
A: Thank you. It's a gift. That's all. Just a gift.

The Blimp

Well, the most exciting thing happened today!!! The blimp flew RIGHT OVER my house!!! Yes, the Goodyear blimp. It came, as if guided by destiny, right over my house, right when John got off the school bus.

Actually, it wasn't quite all that exciting, but I needed something to blog today, so that topic won over the other potential topics of "My Baby won't take his nap" or "My daughter ate a hot dog for lunch."

Fun Friday: A trip to the Zoo and a little "Poo"

Friday we went to the zoo.

Will got to see the elephants up close and in person. I think he recognized them from the Baby Einstein "Baby Noah" DVD he watches all the time. :o)

Based on the title of this post, you're probably expecting me to make some joke about the smell of animal poo at the zoo. Well, you're wrong. The poo comes into the story at lunch when my friend Sarah and I were at a pizza restaurant with 4 of her kids and 2 of mine (This particular restaurant is one we frequent often). Child A goes into the single stall ladies room and does a little business. The toilet will not flush. So, with her head down, Sarah tells the employee that there's a bit of a problem in the ladies' room. He goes in with gloves and some plumbing tools and fixes the problem. A few minutes later, Child B needs to do some business. The same toilet malfunctions again. Before we have the chance to tell the employee (again), Child C and Child D need to use the facilities to conduct business. So, we send one into the ladies' room and one into the men's room. A few minutes later, the ladies' room toilet is now quite full and still not working. The men's room toilet has also now become stopped up AS WELL, threatening to overflow.

Picture with me now: we have one big pizza restaurant, lots of customers, and ZERO working toilets...both full of, well, you know. We were absolutely humiliated. Sarah's biggest fear in the midst of this was that the employees and restaurant patrons would think it was her "byproducts". So, I am posting this story on the blog to CLEAR her name, once for all. If you were at a pizza restaurant on Friday and the restroom situation was unpleasant, please do not think for one minute--not one minute--that it was Sarah. Pass this along to anybody you hear discussing said restroom incident.

So, I put a tip on the table and we slinked out as casually as you can with 6 children in tow. Sarah swears the employee and manager were whispering about the poo situation as we walked out. With her head down again...she uttered the news they most feared: "it's still not quite working right."

I think we're going to have to find a new pizza place to become "regulars" at.

Will the Real Vince Young Please Stand?

Go Titans!

Last night, I attended my first (and hopefully last) NFL football game.

I am not known to be a big sports nut...but I am always up for an adventure and this opportunity had all the makings of an adventure...and potential blog-worthiness which I'm finding out is very important to my life these days.

I'm just going to bullet point the major highlights of the game. (Disclaimer: If you're looking for actual highlights of the actual football game, you need to check ESPN. )

• I met a new friend last night. We bonded over the sport of football and the fact that we shop at the same Walmart. I never caught his name, but he taught me so much over the course of 3 quarters of Titans football. I'm going to call him "Mike Ditka" because:


• a) he looks like Mike Ditka
• b) he is from Chicago
• c) he kept saying "Da Bears" everytime he got the chance.


• I have never seen so many Vince Young football jerseys in one place! People...stock tip for you...go buy a few shares of Vince Young jersey stock NOW. The stadium holds roughly 60,000 people and at least 78.77% of them had on a Vince Young jersey. That's a solid return guarantee for your dollar!!


• Cheerleaders now wear bikinis and go-go boots.


• Fireworks are a big concern for my son. He watched the first half of the game with his fingers in his ears. Even during the National Anthem (which was SO obviously lip sync'd!) he had one hand over his heart, one hand covering an ear, and the other ear pressed up hard against his shoulder just in case a round of fireworks was sent up during "O Say Can you See". He was right! In case you didn't know, "....and the rocket's red glare...the bombs bursting in air..." is the perfect moment to shoot some more off.


• The more you drink, the more you cuss. "Mike Ditka" illustrated this point for me.


• The more you drink, the more you spill beer on the person sitting next to you. Again, "Mike Ditka".
  
• Dippin' Dots ice cream is still a total waste of calories. Not worth it, people. Hold out for the real thing.
  
• Here are a few pictures of our fun evening:

On the pedestrian bridge to the game-

The lady who took the pic would only take it if we promised to say "Go Titans!" instead of "cheese."

NFL kids zone. We didn't pay to go in...just took the free pic from the outside.

He called our night out "my first week of school anniversary night out with my parents." He was beyond excited. I think sports is his love language.

P.S. a very big Titans "thank you" goes to our friends David & Amy for last minute babysitting duty of Maddy & Will! To show how much we appreciated it...the next time I get tickets to a Titans game, I'm going to sacrifice and give them to you...straight from my heart.

Not to go all Webkinz on you again, but...

Reward: 15,000 Kinzcash


Maddy saw the quick way that Kitty was saved from demise by a single blog post, and she begged me to do a post about Bunnyscotch. Bunnyscotch is yet another family friend whose time with us was far too short. She was last seen in our minivan on the way to Orlando, FL in March 2008. If you have seen Bunnyscotch, please call the tipline.

We're reunited and it feels so good...

Thanks to the love and prayers sent up on behalf of Maddy & "Kitty" the Terrier puppy, they were reunited. (She was hiding in our garage). Everyone should sleep well tonight! Here is a photo of "Kitty" in her play area that Maddy has designed for her.

Unfortunately, however, Kitty has ceased taking the place of human playmates in Maddy's life. Today, she was distraught over not having any little girls to play with. I suggested she play with Kitty, but that was met with dismay. "She's not a real human! She doesn't move unless I move her. She doesn't say real words--just words that I make her say! I want to play with somebody who talks and moves without me making them do that! She doesn't even wear clothes!"

She has such high expectations for her friendships.

Lost: Dog that answers to the name "Kitty"

REWARD: 10,000 Kinzcash

Missing: White Terrier puppy. Answers to "Kitty." Pink bow on one ear. Missed greatly by her owner.

Please post your sympathies to the dog's owner in the comments section.

We're hopeful and prayerful that she will be safely returned to her loving home.

Last Day of Summer

First Day of School

1st day of 2nd grade

1983 (my first day of 2nd grade)

Please, someone, remind me in May when I grumble about making school lunches how VERY excited I was to make John's lunch today! After a long, hot, busy, and sibling rivalry-filled summer, it was back to school today. I was more than a little excited. School is good. Very good. Don't get me wrong--I LOVE my children and I LOVE spending time with them. However, the time spent together goes so well when we've had a little time apart. Anyone agree? No?

In all seriousness, my heart was delighted when he got off the bus this afternoon and declared..."School was awesome!!! Mrs. XXXX is the perfect teacher for me!" He was thrilled with his first day of school. What an answer to prayer! I am so grateful for his excitement about school.

In honor of a 35+ year old tradition my parents established, I took his photo this morning on the front porch. My mom has a photo album for each child in my family with a picture of them in the same spot on the front porch on every first day of school. Without permission, I have published one of those pictures above. (After they see this, I'm sure I'll be banned from future family holiday gatherings, but I'm more than a little sentimental today and this photo just fits. Forgiven? If not, you can publish an old school picture of me on your own blogs.)

Porta-John

Yesterday, I had a momentary lapse of judgment when I found myself in the VET line with all 3 children in my van. It's my month to renew our license (or registration? whatever that thing is that sends you to get your emissions test done). Anyways, being that I don't procrastinate (I'm told that it's one of my many strengths;o) ) I decided that Aug 7 was perfect for this chore...despite having 3 children with me who usually frown upon being strapped into carseats in a non-moving vehicle.

To bribe them for good behavior, we stopped at Sonic for a cherry limeade. And, here again, is where I had another momentary lapse of judgment. Seems I forgot that we would be stuck in a notoriously long line with no restroom facilities in sight for an undetermined amount of time. One of my children has the smallest bladder known to man...and I'm sure you can guess what this child declares not long after we are stuck in the middle--11 cars in front of and 6 cars behind us.

Let me just say that the Sonic cup pulled double duty yesterday.

4 days of summer left-

Hard to believe, but another summer has just about wrapped up! It will be official this afternoon when we go meet my son's new teacher at Open House and I get that school supply shopping list that will send us directly to Walmart for yet another round of #2 pencils, Germ-X hand sanitizer, Kleenex, and Crayolas.

Just so I don't feel like it zipped by with nothing to show for it...I need to remind myself of all we accomplished in Summer '08:

*Anniversary trip to Bahamas

*Will got ear tubes
*John did a 2 day golf clinic
*Maddy did 3 days gymnastics camp
*Seagrove Beach
*Family Reunion in KY
*Holiday World
*Girl's Weekend to Monteagle
*Guy's Weekend to Atlanta
*Couple's Weekend to Atlanta
*Kids went to cousin's house and to the lake
*Weekend trip to Memphis
*Driveway Happy Hours in the neighborhood
*Big kids went to Camp Sonshine VBS
*Pool, Pool, and more Pool
*Firecracker 5K & kids' race on July 4

Speedracer, The Baby

So, it was pointed out to me yesterday that I have no pictures of child 3 on the blog. I'll introduce you to him now. Will is 10 months old and oh so busy! We seriously thought we struck gold when we had him because he was so easy, so laid back, so good at the important things like, oh, I don't know...SLEEP. I distinctly remember telling a friend a few months ago that I felt the Lord was blessing us for our faithfulness to Him by giving us such an easy baby. ;o) Oh, I was kidding...a tad. Anyways, easy baby became M-O-B-I-L-E baby and our life was turned upside down! He was on the move WAY sooner than our other two had been and he is lightning fast! When we were planning our Bahamas anniversary trip several months ago, we asked my mom to watch the kids and promised that Will would be SO easy because he wouldn't be on the move yet and would be in that happy phase where babies like to just sit in one place and play with toys. Well, he never hit that stage. In fact, he completely skipped that stage. Wouldn't you know that he was climbing stairs, cruising, into all drawers and cabinets...and the house hadn't been properly babyproofed yet.

The Y childcare workers have nicknamed him "Speedracer" and the church nursery workers always look at me in pity when I pick him up and say something like "You poor thing, you must be worn out! That is the busiest baby I have ever seen..."

Pink Soccer "Pleats"...or the Athletic Southern Belle

So, the 4 yr old is taking her first turn to play a sport this season and we're going with soccer. She has been so very excited about it! Her "evaluations" were this morning, and the season will start in another month or so.

A few weeks ago, we were at a friend's house who was cleaning out her garage and they came upon some cleats that were slightly used, in good condition, and most important....her size! What a blessing! you may want to exclaim right now. Well, it wasn't a blessing and you know why? Because they were solid black. In other words, they were not pink. Yes, read that sentence again--they were not feminine enough to grace her feet as she runs through grass and mud. So, last night found us at Sports Seasons purchasing pink shin guards, a pink soccer ball, and pink striped Adidas soccer "pleats" as she calls them.

Later that evening, we started thinking about her evaluations and it dawned on me that she does not own one pair of shorts as she only wears skirts & dresses! In the very bottom of her drawer, we found some really old, really small shorts, but that was it. This morning she wore some old shorts of John's to her soccer evaluation where she "kicked some little girl's butt" in the drills. (Michael's words...isn't he just capturing the non-competitive spirit of youth soccer?)

More to come-

This message brought to you by the American Dietetics Council

If you have not sampled the chocolatey delightfulness of Special K Chocolatey Delight, you need to grab your purse & keys and go directly to the local supermarket in order to make the urgent purchase of this delicacy.

I am serious. Do it now. You're still here reading, aren't you? You didn't go to the store yet? OK, fine, then, finish reading this post, then you can go. It is basically Frosted Flakes with Chocolate Chunks in it. Chocolate Chunks, people, chocolate chunks!!!

Here's the thing: it is marketed as a "healthy" food alternative to late night snacking. But, what they don't take into account is the fact that some people (deleting names to protect anonymity) may eat an entire box in one sitting. At the very least, the previously mentioned anonymous eater may rifle through the box eating out all the chocolate chunks...the same way anonymous eater used to eat all the marshmallows out of Lucky Charms as a child. But I digress...

Speaking of marshmallows and chocolate, BMI is so out now and PBII (Personal Body Image Index) is so in.

The general idea is as follows:
• Start with your weight.

• Subtract seven pounds if you have just worked out.

• Add five if you've single-handedly finished a plate of guacamole and chips; four for macaroni and cheese; six for death-by-chocolate cake.

• Subtract 10 pounds if people nearby are fatter than you.

• If you're wearing black pants, subtract two; if in a bathing suit, add eight.

• If you are more than seven years older than the group average or are surrounded by bikini-clad undergraduates with toned stomachs and cellulite-free thighs, add 20.

(Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/08/01/o.women.weight.loss.math/index.html)

Baseball Biker

In years to come, when I think back to Summer '08, this image will come to my mind. (And my neighbor's minds as well). John (7) has been seen at all hours of all days riding his bike around our 'hood with a GIANT batting helmet on his head. His bike helmet is too snug, so he says, so this is his viable option for optimum cranial safety since his mother can't seem to remember to buy him a new one at Walmart. Several neighbors have told me that they get quite a chuckle when they see this moving red target coming down the street.

Update: I am ALREADY being censored on my blog. Where is the 1st amendment when you need it, people?!? Anyways, the 7 yr old subject wandered by the computer as I was writing this post and saw the original title of this post ("Little Red Riding Helmet"--very clever, don't you think?) and he objected vehemently. "That is too girly!" he exclaimed. He begged me to change the title to "Baseball Biker"...so I did. And, of course, we just got home from Walmart where we purchased...you guessed it...a new bike helmet.

Bazinnias and Tomatoes...or the study of genetics in the green thumb

We went to the Bahamas a few months ago for our 10th anniversary (T-E-N years!!! Yikes…we’re aging.) Anyways, my mother came from KY to babysit. As if the care & nurture of three children weren’t enough responsibility, she dug into a little educational landscaping project in our backyard. She & Maddy (4) planted a garden. It is absolutely delightful to hear her little girl voice pointing out all the flower’s names in the garden (and subsequently around town…”they really shouldn’t have planted those black eyed susans where they did, because now you can’t see the low-lying verbena behind them…”)

Maddy's FAVORITE flower, by far is the “bazinnia”. What’s that? A new species of the zinnia, you ask? No, no, it is just the plain ol’ zinnia, but she insists that they are called bazinnias.

So…to pay tribute to my daughter and her overachieving grandmother, here is the pictoral proof that the green thumb gene does indeed skip a generation.