Eye Candy (literally!)

A trip to 'The Fudgery' in Banff this September yielded some lovely photos of...my favorite...CANDY AND JUNK FOOD!! WOOOO!!

Enjoy! ;)

And of course what would this post be without a picture of someone eating this glorious stuff? Below is my husband caught chowing down on a chunk of Oreo fudge. Yep that's right, fudge with Oreos in it!

Mandarin Orange Salad with Almonds

My local supermarket has flyers at the tills with recipes on them. I picked this one up and it's been a favorite at our house ever since. We are big salad eaters, mostly because we follow 'The Zone' and salads allow for you to have a big meal without pigging out on bad carbs or too much protein.

This salad is fantastic as a lunch or dinner entree when you cut up a grilled chicken breast and add it on top.

NOTE: The type of lettuce does not matter too much, use whatever you have on hand or whatever you feel like. I've used spring mix and spinach as well as romaine and they all were great.

Salad
8 cups romaine lettuce leaves, torn (you can reduce this to suit your portion sizes)
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
2 green onions, chopped
1 can of mandarin oranges, drained (about 10oz)
1/4 cup candied slivered almonds*
Combine all ingredients in a large salad bowl and toss.

Dressing
2 tbsp white vinegar
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Parsley - either 1tbsp fresh chopped or 1 tsp dried
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl, pour over salad and toss to coat.

* To make candied almonds, put 1 tbsp of sugar and 1 tbsp of water into a small frying pan and melt the sugar over low heat (stir it to melt the sugar). Add the almonds and cook for 5 minutes or until almonds are well coated and lightly browned. Spread them out on wax paper or foil and allow them to cool before breaking apart the ones that are stuck together.

Like sex in your mouth.

Well that's what Jaylene said this cake was like. Yes, my baking (and pregnant) friend Jaylene gave me this recipe and said it was so good, it's like sex in your mouth. Obviously I like food, so this was something I had to try. I brought it to a social last night and it pretty much got inhaled.

Apple Cake
1 c. butter, softened
2 1/4 c. granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4-5 c. coarsely chopped and peeled apples
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chopped pecans1 c. chopped pecans (I skipped the nuts because I was unsure of people with allergies)

Icing (optional - I didn't make this)
1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon-apple extract
2 tbsp. milk
1c chopped pecans

In large bowl cream butter with 2 cups of granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir together the 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in vanilla.

In a medium bowl, stir together apples, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the 2 tablespoons flour. Fold into batter. Spoon batter into greased and floured 9x13-inch pan (Pyrex works best for me). Smooth with spatula.

In medium bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon; stir in nuts if using them. Sprinkle this mixture over batter in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes (i did only 45 but ovens vary) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Make a glaze of powdered sugar, cinnamon-apple extract and milk. Drizzle over cake...Only if you choose.

Note: I used frozen fresh apples that have been partially defrosted in the ziploc bag from Jaylene's mom's tree, it helps make the batter and then the baked cake more moist.

Try not to eat this whole cake yourself. You should probably share it, your waistline will thank you.

Ice Cream Cupcakes

Taken from the Cupcake Bakeshop

Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcake ice cream cones / 350 degree oven

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

1. measure out everything but the eggs directly into your mixer bowl
2. mix on low speed just until incorporated
3. beat on high speed for 2 minutes
4. add eggs, beat on high speed again for 2 minutes
5. transfer batter into a container with a pour spout (like a pyrex measuring cup)
6. pour batter into ice cream cones, leave a good half inch between the batter and the top of the cone
7. bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean

Time for a new hobby...

Yes that's right. I got fat... and I blame it on the KA. Well, that and my inability to exercise my willpower. So anyway I have put cooking and baking on the back burner for now (still doing it, just not overload like I was doing!) and I am going to start into the world of photography.

I had the most exciting Ebay experience ever on Sunday night. I was watching my auction to make sure I didn't get outbid, and sure enough, with 1 minute and 13 seconds left, some !@#$ outbid me! Well, my competitive nature sure wasn't going to let them get away with it, so I upped my max bid and I won at the very last second.



I am the proud new owner of a Canon Rebel XTi, with a silver body. Included in the auction was:

Canon Lens EF 28-90mm 1:4-5.6 - Standard Zoom Lens

Canon UltraSonic Lens EF 90-300 1:4-5.6 - Telephoto Lens

Digital Visions of Japan, 58mm 0.5x "fisheye wide-angle" digital lens with macro

4GB Compact Flash (XS) memory card

Three (3!) long-lasting lithium batteries and recharger

Camera bag

Three additional protective pouches

Two (2) lens filters - one is a nice SunPak circular polarizer 58mm. The other is a standard clear filter to protect your lens.

I love a bargain.

I am so happy to have won this auction for many reasons...mainly because I really wanted to do stuff with telephoto and macro lenses. I also can't wait to try out the fish eye aspect as my wedding photographer uses those lenses and his work is incredible.

Here are some photos I took with hubby's Canon Powershot SD630 Digital Elph point and shoot camera.

Cheesecake

*YOUR CHEESECAKE SHOULD NOT LOOK LIKE THIS!!!*

Sometimes I screw up. And this time I really screwed it up but at least I was able to fix it without any major tragedies!! NOTE: Cream the cream cheese before adding the other ingredients. Otherwise it will get all gross like in the above picture.

Once I re-did the mixture, the cheesecake itself turned out to be a huge success. Everyone loved it, it was just the right texture and sweetness.

Jaylene's "not mine but close enough" Cheesecake

You'll need a 9" Spring Form Pan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

1 1/4 c. graham crumbs
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Mix the above ingredients together and press into pan for crust.


2 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the cream cheese in mixer until light and fluffy. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until creamy and pour over crust.

Bake until light brown around edges only (about 25-30 mins). Cool and top with pie filling of your choice or anything else you choose.

Keep refrigerated.

Summer Salad

My inspiration for this salad came from two places, I found this picture on TasteSpotting and I remembered a salad I had eaten at Nemo in South Beach. The above picture was originally located on a food blog completely in Finnish and none of the online translators could translate it fully, so I improvised.

This experiment turned out smashingly well. I took it to the inlaws' for hubby's dad's birthday dinner, and everyone loved it. Considering it was a super hot day this was refreshing to eat, and just the right flavor mixture with the sweetness of the watermelon and the saltiness of the feta.

Watermelon and Feta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Spinach, fresh greens or Butter Lettuce
Watermelon - cut into triangles about 1/4" thick and about 2" across
Feta Cheese - cut the block in half diagonally to create a triangle, then slice 1/8" thick
Toasted nuts/seeds - (I used pine nuts and pumpkin seeds)

Dressing
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how garlic-y you want it)
1 teaspoon coarse salt (I used Kosher salt because that's what was in the cupboard)
Pinch of freshly cracked pepper (I used normal pepper)

Combine everything in a bowl and whisk together until blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To toast the nuts: simply place them in a skillet on med/hi heat. Pine nuts will start to look toasted and raw pumpkin seeds (de-hulled) will pop and crackle in the pan. It should take only 2-5 minutes to toast both.

Pour the dressing on the spinach/lettuce and mix it up so the greens are coated. Next, sprinkle the nuts on top and finally place the watermelon and feta on top.

I'm cautious of throwing it all in the bowl and mixing it up that way because I was scared of wrecking the cheese and watermelon triangles.

Next time if I serve this at my place I'd like to serve it up individually on plates so it would look nicer.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This was a really easy and quick meal to make. Not a lot of prep involved and hubby loved it.

Next time I might use a different pasta sauce, like perhaps a more chunky version, or add in some canned mushrooms. Otherwise it was really tasty!

Stuffed Chicken Breasts
from The Foodie Fashionista

4 (6 ounce) chicken breasts
3/4 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach (or you can steam/chop fresh spinach)
1/4 red pepper, diced
3/4 cup marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound each with a meat mallet until 1/4" thin.

In a bowl, mix ricotta, 1/2 the mozzarella, and seasonings. Lay chicken breasts flat and spoon 1/4 of the mixture onto each breast. Spread evenly to cover the entire surface of each breast. Add 1/4 of the spinach and 1/4 of the diced pepper to each breast. Roll each breast in a jellyroll fashion, starting with the narrowest end.

Spread 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce in an 8"x8" baking dish. Place each roll, seam side down, in the baking dish. Pour the rest of the sauce over the chicken breast. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, uncover and sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over chicken breasts. Bake until melted, about 5-7 minutes.

Yields 4 servings.

*This recipe is Weight Watchers friendly:

core - included
flex - 5 points each

Visit The Foodie Fashionista for more WW friendly recipes.

My Psycho Oven

As previously mentioned, my oven is psycho. It cooks way hotter than the temparature on the dial. Hubby said "there's nothing wrong with the oven, it's you.", jokingly of course. Right.

So, desperate to prove I'm not crazy, I sought out some info on how to re-calibrate my oven's temperature, and found this tutorial (which was great by the way), however did not work for my oven because alas I do not have the ability to calibrate it myself. Stupid Kelvinator.

I did follow some of the instructions and got an oven thermometer. I think the following photos should speak for themselves.

BBQ Food!

We had a BBQ/Wii party last night and it was a great opportunity for me to really test my skills. I made a few mistakes but it all turned out fabulously anyway! Everyone said they really enjoyed the food and one person, who says he hates cheesecake, said it was the best cheesecake he ever had (and had two pieces!) lol!

Unfortunately I got too busy and forgot to take pictures off all the wonderful creations.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
from Good Things Catered

This is the dish I screwed up...but it ended up being so freakin' amazing I will make it again with the new recipe!
Ingredients:
2 (14 oz) cans of premium artichoke hearts
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
16 oz. baby spinach leaves
1 medium onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 c. mayonnaise
8 oz. cream cheese (1 block), at room temperature
*original recipe calls for 4oz of cream cheese
1 1/2 c. assorted cheeses, grated
(I used parmesan, asiago, and mozzarella because they came pre-shredded and I'm lazy.)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp thyme (the dried/ground kind)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and line baking sheet with foil.
-Toss drained artichokes with 1 Tbsp oil, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper.
-Spread out over the baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally. Until browned at the edges, about 25 minutes.
-Let the artichoke cool and chop coarse.
-Meanwhile heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat until just shimmering.
-Sauté spinach until wilted and drain thoroughly and transfer to a bowl.
-Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to pan and add the onion.
-Cook for until softened, about 5 -7 mins.
-Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds..
-Transfer to bowl with spinach.
-Stir in mayo, cream cheese, cheeses, lemon juice, thyme, and cayenne until uniform.
-Add more cheese as needed! (oink! oink!)
-Gently fold in artichokes
-Transfer mixture to large baking dish and sprinkle with parmesan.
(Here you can cover and refrigerate up to three days if needed)
-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-Bake dip uncovered until hot throughout and top is golden brown, about 20-25 mins.
-Let cool at least 5 mins before serving.
-Prepare to be exercising all week...you'll want to eat the whole thing!

You can serve this with cut up pieces of sourdough bread, crackers, tortilla chips or (my own invention) Panini chips.

To make the Panini chips, buy a package of panini bread, cut it up into triangles, brush the pieces with olive oil then sprinkle some Kraft parmesan cheese on top. Broil it at about 350 for a few minutes, until the bread starts turning a nice golden brown. I like easy stuff.

Chicken Satay Skewers and Strawberry Mushroom Salad

Last night I tried out the Satay Skewers from Good things Catered.
They were really yummy...however beware 'Curry Nail' *

*Curry nail occurs when you submerge your hands in anything with curry. They will turn yellow. I instantly panicked because not 2 hours before I just got my gel nails done and now they were a hideous shade of yellow. I ran to the bathroom and grabbed my nail polish remover and it came right off. Whew, crisis averted.

You can visit the link above to see the recipe for Satay Skewers, because her pictures are much nicer. I will however share my recipe for the Strawberry and Mushroom Salad.


As I may have mentioned before, I'm an 'avant garde' kinda chef...I don't really measure things, I like to experiment. I got the recipe from my BFF when I went to visit her last summer.

You'll need:

Spinach
Goat Cheese
7-10 Strawberries
7-10 Mushrooms
Sliced almonds or whatever nuts/seeds you have lying around

Dressing
Balsamic vinegar
Olive oil
Brown Sugar
Clove of garlic (minced or put through a garlic press)
Pinch of salt

The quantity of everything depends solely on how many people you are serving. I go by 'parts' for the dressing - one part balsamic, two parts brown sugar and three parts oil. If it's just the hubby and me for dinner I'll usually use the 1/4 cup and measure everything out and it usually is more than enough. Recently I've started using less oil because I just love the taste of balsamic vinegar and also it was making way too much dressing for the two of us. So I have been doing 1/4 cup balsamic, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/2 cup oil.

Now that you have decided how much you will need, throw all of the dressing ingredients in a blender (because I am wayyyyy to lazy to whisk it) and blend it until its...well...blended.

The salad is a very visual thing for me. You have to eyeball it and think about who is going to be eating it and approximate how much they'll eat. I put about 3/4 of a bag of spinach in a bowl (I use bagged spinach because I have not had much success with washing/drying spinach, plus as aformentioned, I'm lazy) and then I cut up the mushrooms, and strawberries and throw it on top.

I then sprinkle on sliced almonds usually...if I don't have any almonds, I've used pine nuts and flax seeds. Really, anything goes for the nuts/seeds portion of the salad. I imagine pumpkin seeds (especially toasted ones) would be fabulous. Again for the quantity, just put in as much as your little heart desires. There's no magic formula and it's not rocket science. It's a salad. If you really want to know how much, I will just grab a handful and sprinkle it around the bowl. That should be enough.

Lastly crumble the goat cheese on top. You can use a fork to scrape the cheese away so it crumbles nicely, or as I recently discovered, use your hands. Using your hands is fun because then you get to lick your fingers! How much do you like goat cheese? If you love it, then pile it on. The more the better. If you're so/so on goat cheese, then just sprinkle enough to cover the top. It really adds a nice flavor once you add the dressing.

When it comes to the dressing, I like to keep it seperate and pour it on once I've 'dished up'. There's nothing worse than having too much dressing or soggy salad. Spinach is particularly prone to sogginess.

This salad is fantastic as a main course when you add some grilled chicken or - my favorite - Beer Butt Chicken (recipe coming soon).

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

*NOTE* Please excuse the crappy photography. These were test photos done with my new iphone. If you read my First Post you would know what happened to my actual camera. C-Dub is hiding his camera from me and my obsessive need to photograph the food.

This cupcake recipe comes from my Granny. She's been making it for years and everyone in the family loves it. I wanted to make something nice for my brother's girlfriend for her birthday, so I made these yummy treats and I plan on bringing them to her work tomorrow.

Granny's Chocolate Cupcakes (or cakes)
as instructed by Granny via email

2/3 cup shortening (at room temperature)

1 2/3 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 1/4 cups cake & pastry flour

2/3 cup cocoa

1/4 teasp. baking powder

1 1/4 teasp. baking soda

1 teasp. salt

1 1/3 cups water

1 teasp. vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar together, add eggs and beat well. Add vanilla. Sift together all dry ingredients and add alternately with water to creamed mixture. Bake in 9" layer pans (2) or makes about 20 cup cakes. Bake at 350 deg. - cakes approx 35 mins., cup cakes approx 20 mins. Be sure to oil cake pans well and cover bottom with circle of wax paper. Let cakes cool in pans for several minutes before removing to wire rack.

N.B. I squeeze the batter into 2 8" pans, then when cooled cut each layer throught the middle using either a piece of thread wound around my fingers or a long bread knife. I then put the four layers together with whipped cream made as chocolatey as you want by adding chocolate ice cream sauce to taste. Our favorite birthday cake - there is no talking when we are eating this.

Cream Cheese Frosting
from Cupcake Bakeshop

12 ounces or 1-1/2 packages of Philly cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Bring cheese and butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours
2. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment
3. Beat butter and cheese at medium speed until creamy
4. Add half of the sugar and the vanilla. Beat until combined
5. Gradually add remaining sugar (more if you have to) until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like

NOTE: The frosting naturally has a beige-ish color, and since I was putting it on chocolate cupcakes I wanted it to look as yummy as it tasted. I added a bit of cocoa for color and a bit of taste. I didn't measure so you can go ahead and add as much or as little as you like. I got it to a nice mocha shade and decided it would be a nice contrast to the dark cupcakes.

Chocolate Curls
from The Pioneer Woman

Ree does an excellent job of describing this process so I will not interfere with her genius. Click the link above to visit her site for a great pictorial.

Grab some Crisco and some semi-sweet baking chocolate. (Any brand will do, and you can even use semi-sweet chocolate chips if you’d like!)

Place three ounces (usually three squares) of chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl.

Now place one tablespoon of Crisco (vegetable shortening) into the bowl.

Now throw it in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds, or until the shortening is melted and hot.

With a fork, mash up the chocolate to blend with the melted Crisco.

Stir to combine thoroughly.

Now, grab a metal cookie sheet, turn it upside down, and pour the melted chocolate on.

Then, with a flat spatula (or heck, a knife), spread the chocolate in a thin layer…

Keep going until it’s very, very thin. Then…and this is the key…stick it in the freezer for a few minutes.

Be sure to give it the ol’ fingerprint test. And when it’s ready, it should leave the slightest mark, but not an actual depression.

Next, get a somewhat sharp-edged spatula and begin to scrape the chocolate from the bottom of the pan. When the chocolate is just the right temperature, it’ll curl instead of break

Now you have a couple of minutes before the chocolate gets too soft.

So just scrape along the bottom of the pan…

…And the chocolate will curl right up. If it’s too hard, give it a minute, then try again. If it gets too soft, stick it back in the freezer for a minute.

Pretty soon you’ll have a bunch of fun little chocolate curls.

Important: as soon as possible, transfer the curls to a cold pan or plate, then stick them in the freezer to harden. Store in the freezer in a Ziploc bag until you need them. Use them to adorn pies, cakes, or platters of fruit. You’ll feel instantly fancy!

Pizza Time!

**Did I mention I need a new camera?**

Today I was feeling rather lethargic and could not decide what to make for dinner. There was talk of hamburgers...but that didn't really appeal to me today. Instead I came across a yummy recipe for Carmelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza at Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats. Being the goat cheese whore that I am, I got really excited as I read this recipe (yah, I'm a dork.) and decided to experiment and make a half/half pizza to share with the hubby. I made 1/2 the pizza in this recipe and the other half was my own re-creation of a pizza served at Earl's Restaurant.

At Earl's it's called the 'California Pizza', simply - basil pesto as the sauce, and for the topping I use sundried tomatoes, shrimp and goat cheese. Once it's out of the oven I like to squeeze some lemon juice on it. Mmmmmm, etc.

I'm not really one for measuring, either. I mean, seriously, it's a pizza, do what feels good! I love goat cheese and sundried tomatoes so I put lots on my side and not as much on hubby's side.

The final verdict
Hubby said the onion pizza needs meat. He's a man so I really can't blame him... plus I agree so I think I will add some grilled chicken next time.

Both sides were fantastic however I had some trouble with the crust, I baked the pizza on our new pizza stone (thanks Mr&Mrs W!)...the underside part of the crust did not bake/harden. I tried leaving it in the oven a bit longer but the side crust got darker as well as the toppings so I had to just take it out. It was still good I just wished it was a bit crispier.

Strawberry Cupcakes

These cupcakes were the first project with my new mixer, and I made them to bring to the hubby's birthday dinner at my brother's house. They turned out pretty well, however they seemed to have more of a muffin consistency (more dense) than that of a cupcake. I'm new to this baking thing so I'm not sure what I did wrong...maybe baked them a bit too long or the temp wasn't right. See, I have a schizophrenic oven and setting it at 350F doesn't necessarily mean that's the actual oven temperature. I find it runs a bit hot so I try to set the temp at about 25-40 degrees lower than the recipe calls for. It's not an exact science, and it's annoying. I can't wait until we can replace the darn thing.

The cupcakes were very yummy and the cream cheese frosting was a nice touch. Everyone loved them, in fact I'm sure we all had more than one!

The original recipe was posted at Good Things Catered.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. sugar (or a little less)
2 eggs
1/3 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. chopped strawberries

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare 2 cupcake pans.
-Sift flour, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl.
-In bowl of mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
-Add eggs one at a time until combined.
-Add buttermilk, oil and vanilla until combined.
-Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.
-Fold in berries.
-Fill cupcake pans 3/4 way.
-Bake for 20 minutes.

Frosting
1/4 c. strawberries
1 Tbsp. strawberry liqueur (I used Baja Rosa - strawberry tequila)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 Tbsp vanilla

-Put berries, liquor, and juice in saucepan.
-Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce to a simmer for 5 mins.
-Let cool then blend until smooth.
-In bowl of mixer mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.
-Add sugar, then vanilla.
-Add berry puree until smooth.
-Frost cupcakes when they are completely cooled.

1st Post!

I've wanted to start a blog for a long time, but never knew what to write about. Well now that I'm married and don't have a wedding to plan for, I seriously need a hobby. I thought I would try my hand at a few things, namely crafting, photography and baking/cooking.

My camera is broken at the moment unfortunately...had a little run-in with Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess, whilst visiting Mt. Kilauea at Volcanoes National Park. I tripped on lava and the camera saved me from being impaled by sharp rock. It's supposed to be shock proof, but I guess landing on the camera does not constitute a 'shock'. Actually come to think of it, the fall wasn't what ruined the camera. It was when I took the camera snorkeling (it's waterproof). When I fell, the rock dented a tiny area on the opening for the battery chamber, thus compromising the waterproof seal. I wonder if the warranty will cover that...well I'll try anyway! I am going to keep my fingers crossed that they will just give me a credit to buy a new one and I can put that money towards a slick SLR camera. Hey, a girl can dream.


A very generous friend gave us (ok, me) a fantastic wedding gift last night - a brand new KitchenAid Mixer. That's right girlies, drool away. I never thought I would actually own one of these for two reasons: 1. My cooking skills aren't good enough to warrant a fancy mixer and 2. I could not afford said fancy mixer. So, now I will make Mr. & Mrs. D proud by honing my domestic skillzzzz.