I have been craving sushi for days now.....   but I always end up ordering too many rolls when I go to a sushi place!    I just wanted one roll, but if I went to my favorite place (this old house- on aragona blvd) it would  be too hard to decide. spicy tuna? salmon? eel? or good to go? its always hard to choose....

so I did what I thought was easiest, def not the best.   I went to farm fresh. The sushi there isnt too bad. And sometimes they have a variety pack.  they had a pack with salmon and tuna- but it was the kind where its a chunk of fish layin on top of the rice and I wasnt feelin that and it wouldve been harder to share with jake.  The others were spicy california, philadelpia rolls, and shrimp tempura.  no eel...  =(     I probably shouldve just walked away.  I ended up getting the tempura rolls. I dig the sauce- im totally a sauce girl. love me some wasabi too!    It was good, but because it wasnt what I really wanted, it didnt satisfy my craving which makes me a llittle sad.

My brother has thursday off so I asked him if he wanted to get some sushi.  Apparently theres a place by his work that is all you can eat- but its not in a buffet style, its a order as you go- so I'm gonna give it a try .I'm hoping its decent cuz it will be nice to get multiple rolls without breaking the bank!   I'm a slave to this old house, so  I feel almost like a traitor for trying a new place!          This old house is bang  btw.  He makes good sized rolls for a decent price and mr lee- the owner/sushi god is an uber nicee guy. And now I just really want a mug of yum green tea, curl up on the couch, and fall asleep...

SECEP finally got back to me about orientation. Took them long enough!  Too bad its Tuesday, they JUST called me, and the orientation is this thursday.... Now I've got to find a baby sitter for Jake ASAP!

You know its time to go grocery shopping when your lunch consists of:  2 eggs over easy on half a hot dog bun and some pierogies..       It's a good thing I love eggs from my head down to my legs!!!

Dinner? It will most likely be apple cinnamon pancakes with cinnamon syrup and homemade whipped cream. Cuz one, who doesnt like breakfast for dinner. and two, I ALWAYS have baking supplies around.....

There comes a time in your life when you can longer get dressed in front of your kids. Today may have been that day for me.  As I was changing clothes this morning, Jacob snuck up behind me and started to play the bongos on my butt........  Ayy....

I havent really been paying much attention to this basketball team/arena in VA beach thing lately. But I just caught a glimpse of it a minute ago. It literally was a glimpse sincce my antenna is all frizzly.  It was a chart showing how the arena was getting paid for without raising VA beach tax dollars.  

Why is the state paying well over a million dollars for it to be built? thats a lot of money that can be put elsewhere and its not like this area has a good track record for keeping sports alive. The admirals (hockey) seems to be the only thing that has stuck......

Oberweis Dairy came by the other day and Josh ended up signing  up for their delivery home service- for 6 months you get free delivery and a free porch box and you dont have to order much each week, could just be one thing of yogurt.  I wasnt too thrilled with Josh doing this without me nixing the idea for him but the milk is said to be better since it doesnt go through all the intense processes, and I secretly always thought it would be cool (I was always jealous of my friends who had yummy yoder milk delivered to them growing up) so I didnt argue.

Our first delivery came today. for this week, Joshy ordered Milk, egg nog, and we ended up getting free choco milk. the chocmilk was delish! And I'm usually not one for bottled choc milk- i always end up mixing it half and half with white. Eggnog was bang. I've yet to do a taste test of white- you know, compare it w the store bought stuff...   Not disappointed in the drinks.

But you know what I was disappointed in?  The porch box!   I was psyched about havin a cute little metal porch box on my doorstep. I like things like that. Our house was built in the 40s, so kickin it old school on the porch would have been badass.    These hopes and dreams were beaten, smashed, and shattered....   The porch box is now a cooler...So now instead of having a retro door step, its more white trash. This deeply saddens me, so I am now on the lookout for a metal porchbox- if you see one, let me know!

I've been lookin like a madman for a kitchen for Jake. Ok, well that might be an over exaggeration. I spent the last few days looking for good ones on craigslist- brand new those things are hella expensive!   Like $120-200!   Well I found a wooden one for a good deal, its very exciting stuff.

Yeah, its got pink doors and stuff, but I figured we could easily paint that and I could make a new more masculine curtain.      And then I found a redo..

how cool is that?!  Josh saw it last night and it made him more excited about it.  =)   Still not sure what color we're gonna paint it.  We may have access to free/cheap tile so it might depend on that.  I was actually ok with not tiling it but Josh likes this picture so much that he wants to.      We pick it up tomorrw and I'm soo excited about it tht I dont know if I can wait til Chistmas to give it to Jake. But, alas, Santa says we hafta wait...  =(.


I know generally speaking, in terms of christmas gifts, its one big item and them smaller things. Yeah, we broke that rule.  Before I found a kitchen, or got serious with the kitchen search, Joshy got a little tikes basketball hoop- good deal on groupon! So Jake has two big gifts (that we got for a good deal) and for now no smaller gifts under the tree or stocking.    We've got to get cracking!!!     He's so easy to shop for that its hard, its hard to control yourself when shopping for him!

I LOVE pancakes... Truly madly deeply love them....

So much so that when I was in high school (back before I learned of the level of deliciousness of homemade), I would make a batch almost every day after school. No lie, I would eat the whole batch to myself- eh, half lie- I would save the last 2 for my dogs...    It would probably explain my slight chunkiness back then despite the fact that I was ALWAYS in dance classes/rehearsals.

Last weekend, I made pumpkin pancakes with a cinnamon syrup. Who doesnt love pumpkin. They were pretty yum, and the syrup was too! It wasnt as good as maple- but you cant get much better than pure maple syrup. If only I wasnt too cheap to buy it.....(That stuff is soo awesome, it even tastes good on vanilla ice cream!)  

I had a lot of syrup leftover- it filled up about a quarter of a peanut butter jar- so I made pancakes again a few days ago and put some one it.   Jacob LOVES cinnamon, so he was totally digging it. Homeslice was literally licking his plate clean!      I used a  IHOP copycat recipe. I approved of it!     They tasted yumm with the syrup only as I kept eating them I kept thinking that it was missing something.  It was like eating a cinnamon roll, but without the icing. And whats a cinnamon roll without the icing?

I WAS going to make breakfast burritos this morning with my leftover homemade tortillas (everyone should make their own tortillas, its soo easy!) from the blackbean burgers I made the other day- we didnt have any buns so I figured it was easier to put them on a tortilla.     But you know how the saying goes- LOVE CONQUERS ALL.   So pancakes it was. This time with a cream cheese glaze in addition to the cinnamon syrup.  

Pinterest it was! On my mission to find a recipe for a glaze, I came across a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Pancakes. It was like fate.  Since I already had some cinnamon syrup, I didnt want to make the one in the recipe. I didn't have much milk left in my fridge (we REALLY need to go grocery shopping here- lol) so I decided to do the IHOP pancake recipe again, since it calls for buttermilk instead of milk. Turns out I didnt have enough buttermilk- so it was half butter milk half regular milk so I coulda just followed that particular recuple after all. But IHOP pancakes ARE delicious.....

You're supposed to swirl the cinnamon filling into the pancake as its cooking, but since I used my syrup it didnt work out so much. The syrup just got sticky and a little gummy, so I had to just use it as a topping. Note to self: stick to the recipe- =P.   But even doing it my way was delish!!!

Thank You cinnamon syrup for influencing me to eat pancakes not once, not twice, but three times this week.

Its about damn time...

I dont know what took me so long, but I'm finally getting shit straight for my licensure.  Snail mailed a transcrpt request to Shenandoah to be sent out and did one for tcc. AND getting my proof of expierence thing sent out.   Hopefully things havent changed so I wont have to take another class or anything like that. Tell me why it took so long for me to take the bull by the horns to get it done?        If I did it sooner- back when I first found out that it didnt all get sent out- I'd have a job and my husband wouldnt have to work two jobs.  

I went to the teacher development program at secep last week and had an interiew the next day.  It wasnt really a typical interview. The guy asked me what I had left on my k-6 licensure and told me to get that done ASAP and have the stuff sent to him before I sent it to the Dept of Ed so he can have it in my "purple folder' and we can figure out if i hae anymore requirements to fulfill.  I'm assuming that meant that I was 'hired' for the position, but I havent received a call about orientation yet.  

I'd be starting out as a noncontracted daily sub @ $11/hr, then a noncontracted TA, then a contracted TA @$14/hr, then I could become a Sped Teacher @ about $41k/year.  So when/if I start, I really need to book some but and show uber initiative so I can move up as quick as possible.   Cuz $41k is soundin real nice to mama right now. Hell, $11 an hour aint too shabby either. Aside from my tutoring stint when I was in college, itll be the highest hourly job I've had.  And 11 certainly beats the 0 that I'm making now!

I've vented a lot about the hubster on here, but have I ever mentioned how amazing he is? He's currently workin 2 jobs! So he gets out of bed by 730am, gets home by 1-130, leaves for te shipyard at 215 or so and then comes home at 1230am.   Its crazy. I def admire him for it.

Though I wasnt happy about the results of the presidential election, my previous post about ranting wasnt revolvd around that.  It was other people's posts about it on facebook. It wasn't just irritating me, but some of it was starting to be somewhat offensive.  Who we vote for is no ones business but our own. I was just getting sick and tired of people talking about defriending people because of their beliefs- beliefs that theyve probably had for a while. It didnt stop you from being friends with them before....       But what really got to me were the multiple posts on how if you're a women you shouldnt be voting republican.  Who are they to say who I should and should not vote for?   It doesnt make me any less of a woman to vote for another party. I was moe concerned about the economic stuff and NOT obamacare...     I feel like I had more to say at the time......


Harold from Harold and Kumar go to white castle is totally on the 2nd episode of felicity btw.

I saw a pregnant belly cake earlier today and now I really want to make one. That and a penis cake..  Only I dont have the cake pans for them.  But how fun would that be?!!

a political post/rant may be coming soon.  But first I must put all tge pots and pans away (Jacob put them all in the middle of the living room)

Shit just got real....

The twins' birthday party was today.    Their cupcakes didnt turn out as well as I would have liked, but thats just me being picky.  I made 2 flavors- chocolate with marshmallow creme decorated and sugarfree yellow with sugar free lemon curd filling and choc ganache.   The choc was supposed to be like thing 1 and thing 2 so I put them in red liners and dyed the icing electric blue...  I need to check out diff liners cuz once baked, you could hardly tell they were red (was slightly disappointing for me) and I used a dif tip so the icing looked dif than the pic I was using as a reference.   I made lil cat in the hat hats out of marshmallow and red chocolate, they didnt turn out too bad but a couple were a lil messier than I wouldve liked.         The choc ones were a hit- there were only a few left.   People may haveb been a bit apprehensive over the oter ones, cuz if it were me I wouldve been like"sugar free? eww.. no thank you!"   The mom JUST found out she was diabetic a few days ago and asked if I could make a diabetic friendly cupcake so that I tried. And I'm not gonna lie, theyre actually pretty good! I think I may have liked them more than the chocolate.  The lemon curd was tart and the ganache just balanced it out. Was yum...and I'm not even much for lemon. Totally wish I had some extra left over at home.            

I probably lowballed it.  I gave her a good price, but I had a bit too much fun with coming up with my own thing- like fillings, so it cost me a little more than planned. And then the sugar free thing cost a bit more too. A big ol bag of splenda cost twice as much as a bag of regular sugar. I had already given her a price, so I didnt think it would be right to go back and be like "o hey it changed gimme all your money". Either way I'm making a profit and she's one of my first non-family payin clients. You live, you learn. She's already asked me to do another order for her next month- woopwoop. And if she and her family/friends are happy, it could mean more orders from other people and whatnot.      Until then, I've gotta work out some of those kinks.  =P

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I had a second interview at Panera on Thursday, but they never called me back.....    BASTARDS!  jk.           I've still got the SECEP thing to go to Wednesday night, cross your fingers a million and a half times people!      

I've been wanting to make a KooBakes Tshirt. You know rock it out like the champ I am and have the world see it and maybe ask. Free  publicity! And I just think it would be badass.  Mainly, I want to be a bad ass.... It was just going to be a plain tshirt, but then I went to the little girls section (the benefit of being kind of small and relatively flat chested) and saw some longsleeve tees- it IS getting cold, ya know? They had some or 2.50 but then I saw a pink striped one that I realy liked. Pink and crew neck usually not my thing, but I already have silver sparkley letters and i just envisioned it. It was a pricey 5 dollars, but playas gotta play, right?    Now that I have a fullprced shirt and not a half off shirt, I might just keep it. I'm sure I'll change my mind once I find those letters in my craft room.....      Be on the look out people! And I'll be on the look out for more cool shirts that I can maybe make...   =)

Wanna hear something crazy?

Josh says dinosaurs are made up...whats wrong with him?

Not to brag or anything.....

.....but my kid is one of the cutest triceratops EVER!

 

 

We went trick-or-treating last year, but this was his first official trick-or-treating experience since he could walk! Was good times. He stayed out the WHOLE time!  And he was certainly getting the hang of it. He was starting to knock on doors and was waving bye to everyone (he doesnt talk yet, so he at least had the manners to wave since he could say thank you). He was even trying to get a sneak peak into peoples houses to see if they had dogs... =P. What shocked me the most is that he kept the head piece on the whole time.    

Jacob misplaced my camera, so I'll have to try and get even more pictures this weekend once I find it and share his cuteness then!

I realize that 1- unlike most blogs, mine doesnt really have one straight topic and 2- often times it seems more like a bitchfest. And for that I apologize, but with my best friend on the other side of the country and not many friends in the immediate area, its the easiest way to vent. 

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I was starting to get pretty discouraged in the job search- I got a phone call Saturday about an interview at Panera, but that was it. But today, someone at SECEP called. Woop woop.   They called to 'invite' me to a informational session on their Teacher Development Program. At the end of the session, they have interviews if its something that you're interested in.   I went to one of the workshops/interiews shortly after I graduated.  If I remember correctly, you start out as a TA and then work your way up- they help train you with those particular students and it gives you a chance to see if its the route you truly want to go. And they help pay your tuition so you can get all the classes you need to get fully licensed and whatnot.     I was offered a spot in the program back then, but I was offered a job in HCS shortly afterwards so I went with that instead (Full teachers get paid more than TAs!)  .     Hopefully things work out and they want me too! I'd much rather do that than a medial (sp?) food service job(excluding my awesome baking, of course). And its something that has always interested me.   =)

Josh's Birthday is today....

.... so I thought I would try to do something real nice for him.   I decided I'd make him a good breakfast and decorate the house a bit, and of course make him a cake.   He's only been awake for a few hours and I got flack for everything but the streamers- that, he showed an appreciation for and liked/got a kick out of. 

for breakfast, I made stuffed french toast(have you had IHOPS stuffed french toast? Its bang). I havent made anything pumpkin yet, aside from the marshmallows, and we have fresh pureed pumpkin so I decided to make a pumpkin pie cream/custard for the filling and I also made some homemade cinnamon whipped cream.  I stayed up late to make sure that the filling and whipped cream were made and ready for the morning.   Sadly, I forgot the bacon.   

 He was going to get together with a friend and I had plans to go to a craft show (which ended up being a bust, btw) so I made his and wrapped it up so he could heat it up when he finally got out of bed.  I got home before he was out of bed, so I was home when he ate it.   He had some smartaleck things to say about what I made and then he had a smart ass comment about not making eggs. He expectedd me to make eggs and then let them get cold so he could reheat them- GROSS! Nevermind that I put a lot of thought into making something and took the time to prep it before I even went to bed. AND I made sure that it wasnt too pumpkiny (like I wouldve liked it) and I made it creamier than custardlike to appease more to his senses.  I didnt have to make him breakfast, and I def didnt have to make sure it was ready for him to heat up when I left.  Needless to say, my feelings were hurt. 

Then we move to the cake. Over a month ago, he told me he wanted German Chocolate Cake. When I asked what he wanted a week or two, to be sure just incase he changed his mind, he told me he didnt care.   I had gotten a response from a craigslist ad I posted about a fondant covered cake. I had never done fondant before (I've only done 3 cakes, remember?) So I knew I had to start somewhere and  I saw a recipe for Chocolate Marshmallow Fondant  (I hope I did it right, I miscalculated the amount of sugar so had to keep adding and adjust) so I figured I would give it a go with his cake.  plus the cake store I go to finally got some large moose cookie cutters in, and I REALLY wanted to put a moose on his cake.  Cuz he's my sugar moose (its totally a play on sugar bear from honey boo boo, im not gonna lie).    I decided to go with chocolate cake and chocolate icing- since we didnt have all the ingredients for german choc cake, and he did say he didnt care- he even added that I didnt even have to make him a cake...

I mentioned somethin about the cake and then he had something so say about that too!   When I told him, if he still wanted german chocolate I could still do it he said no worries and then under his breath he was like "its my birthday..." Wel then why didnt he just say so, only need a few items.   Ay..    I made choc cuz I know he likes it, if it were soley up to me I wouldve made a pumpkin apple spice cake.   yummmm.....

he did apologize for being an ass, before he left the house. but It still bothered me and I still feel under appreciated.   I know he's stressed, but aint no reason to take it out on me - ESPECIALLY when I'm doing stuff for him!   

Fingers Crossed

I'm not gonna lie, I'm one of those people who tries not to think about things or approach a problem- not in an attempt to make it go away, but with hopes that it will go away.  Does that even make sense?   

I've looked and have found a few jobs to apply for, but didn't put a single application in until today. The nerves totally go to me.   I haven't really worked for over a year and a half (besides my seasonal stint @ Micheals and my short stint as a deli delivery girl)and totally nervous of starting a new job.  I havent applied to any bakeries for fear of rejection, mmost of the ads I see want experience (commercial experience) that I dont have. I've dealt with a lot of cupcakes but I've only decorated 3 cakes. Who's going to hire a cake decorator if they havent even decorated a handful of cakes?        But then again, whats the worse they can say? No?   And they dont have to know how many cakes I've done, I guess I could jist show them my 'work'.

 MY figneres are triple, no quadruple crossed for the application that I put in a few hours ago.  I've been talking about it for a while, but finally applied to the SECEP program.  I've always been interested in it and its a M-F job, no evenings (which is very handy with Josh working nights- it would mean he'd only be with a sitter for a few hours a day) and it would also give us additional benifits.   Insurance helps a lot, but it doesnt mean medical bills are cheap.   Even with insurance, Jacobs last doctors visit is still going to cost us about $200!  Crazy!!

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I finally made pumpkin marshmallows last nite. theyre yum,  but I dont think we'll have them all eaten in time.  Anyone want some?

I was starting to think that I was being over ambitious with the cake, but I think it ended up turning out just fine! Thanks Katie for giving me the opportunity!

No thanks to my students loans, I'm going to have to find myself a job again....  DARN YOU SALLIE MAE!!!!! I shake my fist at you!!!!

Maybe I can luck out and find a bakery job. Get paid to do what I love AND then learn some more stuff? Cant get much better than that. I was at Farmfresh the other day and was appalled by the icing job on some of the breast cancer awareness cakes..   We're trying to help out the boobs people, cant you at least attempt to make the cake a beast?   Maybe they're hiring?  Hmmm........

SECEP is also looking for assistants. I used to always want to work for them or a program like theirs. May as well put my degree to use. Then it would probably help that butt kick I need to get my licensure stuff straight.    I just got soo frustrated after the last school I taught at and enjoyed being hom with my monkey that I let it go by the wayside. Almost makes me wonder if I still want to teach. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it while I did it . I had a lot of fun teaching and spendin time in the classroom with the kids, but dealing with administration who doesnt care about their staff and dont help you out in terms of discipline with the kids and whatnot?

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to go to pastry school. There are two in the area: Art Institute and Stratford University. I talked to SU and they said I could go part time which means 2 days a week for half a day. Sounds feasible- with Joshy working nights and all. BUT its costs about $25K. We def dont have that kind of money to spare.  If I were miraculously able to get the money, via loans, grants, or scholarships, it would mean that my current student loans would be put on hold- which would be awesome, because they're whats kicking our butt right now. But that would also mean we'd be further in debt- we're trying to get out of it, so dont need that!     

The selfish part of me wishes that my grandma shared the inheritance with her grandkids, but my aunts, uncles, and mom have worked their butts off and are more than deserving of some extra 'treats'. Raising kids aint easy or cheap!   

Josh's sister and her husband got out of debt with the help of Dave Ramsey- they got us a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Membership when we got married. After 2 and a hal years, we finally opened it. Hopefully itll help us out. So far, a lot of it just seems to be common sense.  We're canceling cable after this weekend, so we've got a start! 

On to more exciting things.....
I'v finally got a plan for my cousin's bridal shower cake. I'm not feelin so discouraged by it anymore. I crumbcoated it tonite. Hafta go buy some butter, since one big batch of buttercream wasnt enough.  Hopefully itll come together and kick some ass!  

AND I've got another gig coming up!   I'll be making cupcakes for a pair of twin boys' birthday.  Their mom gave me a choice of Sesame St Theme or Cat in the Hat.  And she's letting me choose th flavors, as long as theres 1 kids flavor and 1 adult. I was leaning towards Cat in the Hat, but who knows. What I do know is that its gonna be fun!!!!!

Totally psychin myself out right now....

my cousin's bridal shower is this saturday. I'm makin her cake and I still have no idea how I want to decorate it!  I've been lookin on pinterest like a champ for some ideas, and I've seen a bunch that I like a lot but im not sure if I have the skill to do them well.  learning to decorate cakes via the internet isnt as easy as you may think! 

I dont want it to look homemade like a cakewreck.   I was thinking about maybe decorating it similar to how I dcorated my mom's birthday cake but at the same time I dont want my 'portfolio' to have all the same kinds of style.   

maybe something like this?


I've got a lot of playin to do in a short period of time. Wish me luck!

Introducing the newest member of the family...

 

Ain't she a beaut?

 

I really wanted to make  pumpkinmarshmallows for its first use, but alas I didnt have any gelatin (I had orange Jello mix but that seemed weird) so it will hafta wait another day.

 

 

Instead, I'm making eclair like filled donuts!   These:  Vanilla Cream Long Johns.   I've never made donuts or custard fillings before so hopefully they turn out delish.  

Eeep!!

I'm geekin out over here right now. No, really. I feel like a middle schooler who just found out some dude likes her or something.  

Exciting stuff over here people.

I got a Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!!    In Tangerine.     Isnt it like the best news EVER?

You're jumping for joy right now, arent you?   I knew it.

A picture of this beautiful machine will be coming soon.    I just made some sweet potato cupcakes last night (theyre yummy by the way- the recipte called for a meringue frosting, but I didnt want to deal with te handmixer to make it- if only I waited an extra day), Looks like I've gotta find something else to make to celebrate!!!

Have I ever shared how awesome my family is?

Pretty much all my family is in the area- but we've all got our own lives, some more than others =P, so we dont see eachother too often like we did growing up.   Mainly holidays and family get togethers.   With all the craziness that has been going on these past few months, it further pushed my desire to stcik around. When shit goes down, someone will ALWAYS be there!

One of my cousins got married last weekend in Philly and it was FUN!  Hung out and drank with my cousins pretty much all nite.   Dance floor, photo booths, good times were had- hence why my family is awesome!  I had better words in my head, but they never seem to make it to the 'paper'.  

If you have a husband who gets jealous, it may not be the best of ideas to dance with a topless muscular guy and touch his muscles when the hubby is drunk.   I said good times were had, didn't i?   Once Josh sobered up he got over it. I didnt let him stop me from joinin after party festivities....   =)

BTW- I learned that people are actually reading this blog. One of my cousins shared that its in his favorites. I'm thinking that he must get REALLY bored at work......  Hi RAY!!!

One of my other cousins is getting married in December, here's to another fun nite

I'm actually making her bridal shower cake at the end of the month and im excited about tha- t. I've made a few sketches with how I want to do it, but I dont know what flavor to do!   Her sister said she didn't care as long as it wasnt chocolate- any suggestions?   Everyone seems to like the red velvet.  Yeah, its chocolate-ish, but its going to be two tiers....   White? Almond?    Lemme know peoples....

I pretty much spent the day with friends today and it was awesome. Jacob was there too, and it was still nice. Its nice to spend time with friends, its something I havent done nearly enough these days!

We went to the Zoo with my friend melissa. The Zoo is probably one of my all time favorite places EVER!  I could spend ALL day there, no lie. I dont think I could ever get sick of that place. 

Melissa is probably one of my oldest friends. We met in 7th grade and were friends throughout most of high school. We lost touch and hadnt seen eachother in nearly ten years until recently at her baby shower (we kept in touh via facebook), but it was pretty much like it always had been in the past. We're very different people with very different views and opinions on many things but it still works.  

Then I went to dinner with another one of my oldest friends, but in age. She's older than me, but we've never really talked about age- I;m sure I should know, but its never really been a concern.  We met while teaching at Spratley- my 2nd year teaching, her first.  Our classes were right next door to eachother and we had those rooms that shared a storage room and sink area so we became close quickly.   We've only taught together that year- its been about 2 years, and we've kept in touch and still meet yp for dinner and she came to Jake's baptism and first birthday party and stuff, so yeah....

Anyways, its been a while since Ive had friend time so it was awesome to finally have it.    I def need to do it more often.   YAY for friends!

This may not be that big of a deal, but its currently bugging the crap out of me.    I'll start out with a bit of a back story...

My uncle was getting the bathroom remodeled to be handicap accessible for my grandma; he decided to stick with the plans and this is the 3rd week that theyve been working on it.  He gave the workers a house key (though I didnt know this until a few days ago) but he asked that I be at the house when theyre there to keep an eye on them I spose and to be there for his dogs.  Since I'm not working right now, I agreed to take Jacob over there with me and hang out at his house M-F from 8-330ish (sometimes later).

My uncle's got a HUGE tv and more channels than me so the first few days wasnt too shabby.  But it was starting to get boring and he doesnt have wireless so I had even less to do, besides draw, color, and do crosswords.  So I did what any normal person would do and snoop. But its not like I was being totally sketchy and snooping- I just looked through his living room at his movies and through the kitchen cabinets, I found a whole lot of cake pans that my grandma had (I didnt even know she baked any!) and I found a couple of recipe boxes so I looked through my grandmas recipes a few times..  alright alright you got me, I also looked at some of my grandma's jewelery cuz she had some real cool costume jewelery growing up- but I didnt take it and left everything the way I found it.  

I quickly learned that my uncle freezes EVERYTHING! bread, butter, soups, everything. Which led me to be concerned- stuff can only be freezedd for so long, right? But thats a WHOLE different story.

Now to get back to the point.   I opened a cabinet a day or so ago to get a pack of peanut btter nabs out for Jacob and noticed that the medicine bottle on the shelf looked kind old. Naturally, I took a closer look- it expired in 1999. A couple other bottles expired in 2001. Expiration dates for medicines are usually 3-4 years after the sold date, so that got me concerned. It meant that these medicines were older than my cousin! He's 14 and in the 9th grade....I'd take something that expired a few years ago, but for it to be closer to 14 years old? Yeah, that would TOTALLY sketch me out.  

I saw it as a safety issue and since my uncle seems to have a problem with throwing things out (He got a set of Emeril Pans for christmas this past year and was still using his ancient pans until I switched them old last week) I thought I'd be helpful and doing him a favor if I through them out.  I couldnt have been more wrong!He called my mother all bent out of shape over it.  

Yes, hindsight tells me that it wasnt my place to throw it out since its not my house, but to get all bent out over the loss of 15 year old medicine?!   After seeing how long he keeps everything, I really felt like I was helping him out............   

Really got me upset.  Bah.........

Do things really happen in threes?

Do things really happen in threes or is it just some sort of big coincidence?

This hasnt been the best summer for my family (we'll count today as summer still).     My grandma died less than two months ago, then my uncle found out that his cancer has mestacized (sp?  I dont feel like looking it up right now) and its not stage 4 cancer- not related to his prostate cancer but scaumous cell (?) cancer that he had a few years ago, that doctors thought they had taken out (it was in his nose back then, but theyve found it in his lung and bones).  And the third event?     My aunt go into a bad car accident. She blacked out while driving, had to be cut out of the car, and then airlifted to the hospital.   She broke her back in two difference places.  

All that in the span of 2 months...

I think its safe to say that no one is allowed to get sick or injured for the next ten years or so.  With that being said, I've got my hands full if I'mm going to keep jacob out of trouble!

At first I wasnt happy with my friend's baby shower cake, but once I was done I was please. For it being one of my first decorated cakes ever I think I did a bang job. And she seemed very pleased with it, so even better!!!   I cantwait til I take decorating classes, I'll def have some bamf cakes then!


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I accidentaly came across a confirmation email today... Josh got me a set of pearl earrings! But Shh.....    Real excited about it! Will def beat wearing my target plastic ones!   =P

Instead of spending his day off with his son, my husband went to the bar and was drunk before 9pm.  He passed out in the car once we made it to the driveway; instead of waking him, like I normally would, I left him in the car and locked him out of the house.  I wonder how long he'll stay asleep out there.....

I gots me a paying cake gig!

This past weekend I made my mom a BEAUTIFUL redvelvet cake for her birthday. I got ballsy and attempted to ice it with roses. It looked and tasted AMAZING!

 

 

One of my old friends saw it and she asked me to make her cake for her baby shower this weekend. I wasnt so sure at first since I had never iced a cake smoothly before or worked ith gumpaste, I was mainly concerned over the icing. So I did a practice run with a box cake and I managed to ice it well!!  I messed up on the gum paste, i bought mix because it was cheaper and it said to let it sit for 24 hours- I didnt even wait 4 hours...  so after I made a turte out of it, it became a big ol blue and green blob.  May just hafta suck it up and get the premade stuff

 

I am VERY excited about making this cake.

 

These are the cakes that Melissa liked and sent me for inspiration.

 

     

 

She wants it black forest, 1 tier, nursery colors (blue, green, brown), with a mama turtle and baby turtle, and her sons name on it.  She;s given me reign to play with the design, which is good since I've never done this before. 

 

EXCITED!!!!!!!!!   

My Wish List

Yeah, its me again, I'm STILL procrastinating. I've done most of the dishes, taken the toys off the top of the fridge and picked up a bit in the living room. I've still got A LOT to do! But folding clothes? Not fun! Its one of my least favorite chores to do, right above cleaning the bathroom- which I havent done sine I was in college... =P

To pass the time once again, I will start making my wishlist. Cuz I'm sure you all would just LOVE to know what I want! Really really want!

This kitchen aid mixer. Persimmon.  And if I get it refurbished from the kitchenaid outlet, its only $229.99!



a farmhouse table like this one from potterybarn, but in mohogany...   REALLY want it! but the hubs would rather have a nook in the kitchen...  =(


this CUTE baby blue tongue skink. shame i dont think we have room for it right now. I would name it Molly, Nigel, or Penelope.....  

to be continued...

This is my 'I'm procrastinating' post.  

Josh's parents are going to be in town tomorrow and I should be going into hardcore cleaning mode.  I had a good jump start on monday, but then I ended up babysitting the last two nights, so jumpstart took a few steps back.....

I'm thinkin of starting a miniside business of baking cupcakes and cookies. I'm gonna call it Koo Bakes, Koo was my nickname growing up. =P.  We'll see how it goes.    I tried making cookies for the deli that I sorta work at part time, but that doesnt seem to be working out so great. The owner has too many kinds of goodies to sell that the cookies get kind of muddled. And I can't put a sign up advertising for my yummy homemade cookies since theres no where to put it with everything else at the counter. Since there was no advertising, the customers only knew about them when I mentioned it. I wasnt always at the register.   When people ate them they did like them tho!      I took a week off after my grandma died and when I got back there were already different cookies there!  Smaller cookies, maybe not as good, for the same price!    So I just took the whole batch I brought home....  

Anyways. So I really like to bake so I figure why not?  could help make a coupple of bucks doing what I like before I get my ass back in gear for teaching- which I REALLY need to do btw. 

My sister is now the Newest and First math specialist at Windsor Woods Elm in Va Beach. So I'm gonna hook her up and make a bunch of cookies and cupcakes for her to bring in on the first day of school to share with the teachers and staff.   She'll look like shes the coolest and nicest person ever. And it could possibly give me a kick start. If not, o well....   Cant say I didnt try at least a little bt.

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I would love to go to pastry school, but it costs about 25k. Who's got 25k to spare?!? esp with all my student loans. And I dont even know if I wanna do the whole baking thing full time. I just know I want to learn how to make all those cool things and pastry schools dont offer 'forfun; classes around here///

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pretty little liars is over so I spose its back to cleaning I go! That or planning the back to school gooodies... either way....

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:8a

I read this at my grandmother's funeral today. It was also read at my wedding 2 years ago.  I am currently in search of a large piece of art for my living room with this...


Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and  angelic tongues
         but do not have love,
         I am a resounding gong or clashing cymbal.
And if  I have the gift of prophecy
       and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
        if I have all faith so as to move mountains
        but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
      and if  I hand my body over so that I may boast
       but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, is not pompous,
     it is not inflated, is not rude,
      it does not seek its own interests,
     it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury,
     it does not rejoice over wrong doing but rejoices with the truth
It bears all things, believes all things,
    hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

I love you, too.

My grandmother died today.

Goodnite Grandma, you are not alone.

I wish I could say more without breaking down...

Apparently I opened a can of worms after last nights post.  I will refrain from responding in order to prevent more worms from escaping.   I'll just post this quote/picture I found on facebook instead:

It gave me a slight peace of  mind. 

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I kept seeing Dr.Seuss cookies on pinterest and they looked real good. So I decided to make them, only I wanted to make them more rainbow-y than pastely in honor of all this gay pride stuff for this week . Color AND sugar cookies? How can you go wrong?!

This is only the 2nd time I've used food coloring gel so colors arent as bright or vibrant as I would like, but I cant complain much because they turned out awesome!   AND they look more like tie dye so thats even better! I cant lie, I'm a hippie at heart....... 



The Tale of the Grey Chicken

The media has portrayed this Chik-fil-a debate as a big deal. Some may think it has been overblown, but it really is a big deal. Truth is, Dan Cathy's stance was the straw that broke the camels back. 

I had this blog all figured out in my head, but it didnt come out as well as planned so please bear with the ramblings and disorganization. It didnt help that I kept reading a bunch of facebook comments on the matter and I'm not the best at organizing my thoughts. In my defense, I'm ADD.  =P 

Like I've said before, my husband and I do not agree on this issue at all. And we both passionately disagree. I love my husband, his opinion doesnt make him a bad person. His stance frustrates the crap out of me, but it doesnt help that he sometimes makes comments just to get me fired up. SOmetimes it upsets me so much that itll sometimes put me to tears but He really is a good guy. This is a guy who practically works 2 jobs to support his family and hardly gets any sleep.

He has actually made me a better person. I feel that he has calmed me, or maybe its motherhood- either way he helped. =P Before him, I was quick to act. I would say that I respected other peoples opinions but then I would pretty much argue them to the death- it was my view or no view at all. I would never actually listen to their side. I'm quick to act at times and on the defense with my guard WAY WAY up, but not like i used to be  Now I try to hear both sides, no matter how much I disagree- didnt say I was always successful, but I at least try and I am better at biting my tongue these days....

I say this because my husband supports chikfila, his facebook status says so. I'm not going to lie, it irritated me a bit but It didnt let it get to me.It did, however,  piss my sister off. She felt that since he has gay family he never shouldve said it. My aunt defended him by saying he's got his right to his own opinion, he shouldnt be able to express it just because you dont like it. It set my sister off! (My sister always has good intentions, but isnt the most tactful)And of course it left me there hanging cuz then I dont know what to say or who's side to take... They all had valid points. Yes, maybe Josh shouldnt have said it because of gay family members and he knew how my sister would react but he is entitled to his own opinion and he shouldnt have to hide it.        Way to put me on the spot. Ayy....The more I think about it the more it upsets me.

Theres more to it than freedom of speech vs. gay rights.  Theres no black and white to it, its rather gray....Some people support Chik-fil-a because they support freedom of speech. Some support them because they agree with Mr. Cathy's stance. Others feel he can do as he feels with his money . Some support his stance because they are 'Christians". Others like the food, whereas others are boycotting because of discrimination, others just dont care...

I, obviously, support gay rights and have done so since before I had friends and family who are gay. I have also joined the boycotting bandwagon.  At first was because I didnt agree with the words Mr. Cathy chose- calling us arrogant but my feelings became stronger after I learned of the MILLIONS of dollars that the Chik-fil-a corporation donates to anti-gay organizations.   I support Mr. Cathy's freedom of speech, but I refuse to help fund his anti-gay agenda.  Luckily for him I didn't buy Chik-fil-a often.  I'm usually too cheap for it and too lazy to drive the extra couple of minutes. ...

I've got friends and some family that do not agree with the gay lifestyle. As much as I think they're wrong for feeling this way, it doesnt make them bad people- they've actually helped me and my husband A LOT. And they dont think any differently of me for my opinion. I do not get upset with people for voicing their opinion over the issue. At least I try not to. I get upset when they try to support their anti-gay opinions with the bible.  Ive read some peoples comments on facebook- "Christian's don't like homosexuality, God detests homosexuality. the bible says so...etc, etc". I consider myself a Christian, was raised Catholic as a matter of fact, and I find these comments to be offensive.  Those arguments just get me fired up and not in a good way.

If God detested gays, why would he make so many people gay? If it is unnatural, why do we find gay animals in nature? If its unnatural to be gay and therefore immoral, does that means its also immoral to dye your hair- because platinum blonde isnt natural either...   

You can use any thing to back up an argument if you pull a snippet and take it out of context. And the Bible was written a LONG time ago, being translated a crap load of times. Its possible that things could have been  lost in translation. Its not like it was written right after the events occured, its possible that some of the facts couldve been jumbled like in a game of telephone.  It could also just be one side of the story. God didnt write the book, so we dont really know what he thinks.  Sure the bible says marriage is between a man and a women, but we dont know if it says that because God said so. Maybe it said that because the men who wrote it felt that way, maybe it says that because it was the politically correct thing to say.  Plus there are a lot of things pulled from the bibe that everyone argues are ridiculous now...Nobody knows how God feels on the subject except for God, so stop speaking for him!    

One of my favorite responses was this:
Both sides say it’s about love, some for gays and equal rights and some for Jesus, chicken and free speech. For Christians on both sides, it should be about love-love for Christ and love for your neighbor-regardless of their race/gender/sexual orientation/political or religious views! No matter your stance on the issue, God called us to love the world and the world is full of sin, however you want to define it--murder, adultery, jealousy, hate etc. He knew that we were going to encounter those who do and say things we don’t agree with! Love isn’t easy and it’s not just for those who hold our values, but it is the 2nd greatest commandment, the first being love the Lord (Matthew 22:37-39). It’s not our job to convince others that what we believe is right, that’s up to God

I'll leave it at that.

Think Fast!!!

My last couple of blogs were total downers.  I think it calls for a new recipe of sorts- desserts or dinner, whichev... Anyone got a recipe they care to share? I love trying new ones out.

How do you stop the unstoppable?

So my grandmother is suffering from her 3rd different kind of cancer- 1st it was kidney, then breast, now its renal cancer- which, after just googling, I have learned is pretty much a type of kidney cancer. In about 1/3 of patients, its already metastesized by the time its diagnosed and if its spread it doesnt have a very high survival rate. My grandma's lived a full life; reality is she won't be with us for much longer.

 CANCER.

Of my mothers side of the family, out of 6 kids, only two are cancer free- my mother is thankfully one of them.  Both of her brothers have prostate cancer and both of her sisters had breast cancer. Since the family is so cancer ridden, its pretty scary. 

My mom and one of my aunts were talking last night and they were hypothesizing that their cancer could be linked to birth control. My aunts who had breast cancer were on birth control. My mother and other aunt werent on it for very long and they're cancer free. Again, scary.

 Is there really a link to the two?     I looked it up.  And this is what the National Cancer institute had to say:

• A number of studies suggest that current use of oral contraceptives (birth control pills) appears to slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, especially among younger women. However, the risk level goes back to normal 10 years or more after discontinuing oral contraceptive use.
• Women who use oral contraceptives have reduced risks of ovarian and endometrial cancer. This protective effect increases with the length of time oral contraceptives are used.
• Oral contraceptive use is associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer; however, this increased risk may be because sexually active women have a higher risk of becoming infected with human papillomavirus, which causes virtually all cervical cancers.
• Women who take oral contraceptives have an increased risk of benign liver tumors, but the relationship between oral contraceptive use and malignant liver tumors is less clear. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/oral-contraceptives

I already know I'm going to get cancer, do I really want to raise the risks?

And then theres diet. Rumor has it that theres a link between preservatives and cancer. Growing up we ate a lot of preservative full foods- spagettios, tv dinners, etc..  Again, Scary.

No more Chik-fil-A =(

Most people I know, including my family (but not my husband) are boycotting Chik-Fil-A because of Dan Cathy's anti-gay stance. I never read the article for myself so I wasn't sure where I stood on the boycott. I am all about equal rights and same sex marriage but I also believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so I wasnt going to stop going just because he had different beliefs than me- especially because I am a HUGE fan of their kids meals- its got the healthiest options in town!

I just read the article myself a few minutes ago and it make me cry a little on the inside.  Did he really have to go so far to say?:

      think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.' I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to define what marriage is about    

I was willing to overlook their own beliefs for their tasty food until I read that.  Not only did he pray for God's mercy but he called us arrogant? Yeah.... you crossed the line buddy. 

makes me proud to be a muppets fan tho!

Yay Jim Henson Company!!!!

This brings me to the next thing.   My son currently has 2 gay uncles- my brother and my husband's brother.  I, obviously, have no problem with the gay issue. My husband, on the otherhand, doesnt agree with it- trying to support his argument with the Bible, Sodom & Gomora?  I've yet to read that scripture but I plan on doing it one of these days so I can gain better perspective on his part.  I figure, if it was so bad then why would there havev been gays since the beginning of time and why are there 'gay' animals?  I recently read an article that listed a bunch of animals that are only 'heterosexual' during mating season and even then there were a bunch of males that opted out.  I wish I could remember where I found that article... will post a link as soon as I find it again...

Its one of those topics where me and the hubs agree to disagree or else it goes nowhere and I'm not really a fan of having the scripture quoted to me in an argument, esp if I'm not in church.  Cuz we all know you can just take a snippet from a quote in order to twist the meaning for just about any argument..  

Jacob's not quote 16 months, so not old enough to understand.  But what age is appropriate to have that conversation with a child? And what do you tell them? Especially when both parents have different opinions on the matter.  Josh wants to teach him that his wrong- I dont want him raised thinking that because then as a kid, he might thing that that means that his uncles are bad and I dont want that. When the time comes, I think we should be straight up with Jacob. Tell him, Mommy thinks its ok and daddy doesnt think its right. And then let him decide on his own.  Josh doesnt think that its the right thing to do, because as parents we should have a united stand. How can we do that if we obviously dont? Plus everyone is entitled to their own opinions and jacob should know that.  Just because two people dont agree on something doesnt mean they cant get along. It doesnt mean one person is more right than the other...

What do ya'll t hink?  I would love ya'lls feedback.





UPDATE:
This isnt the article I originially read but it serves its purpose and its National Geographic so we know its legit...

"Homosexuality in animals stirs debate'

I made my mother cry today... No Im not a bad person!

About a month ago, my grandma went to the hospital for hypoxia. Once there, they realized she had pneumonia and ended up pumping a couple of liters of stuff out of her lungs. They also discovered that she had a cardiac mass in her left atrium- can you tell that I was paying attention to the nurses talkin to eachother?       They werent sure if it was cancerous or not, but the internist said she has a life expectency of 3 months to a year... Scary stuff when he says 3 months.    She was in diapers, was having accidents, and coulnt walk.... 

A few days later she was transferred to a rehab center and things were looking up. She was able to get around in her wheel chair and walker, could go to the bathroom herself, was put back on a normal diet....  I'm never fully clear with whats going on though. Theyre keeping my granma in the dark about everything.   I'm afraid to ask my mother, uncle, and aunts because I dont want to upset them. I have to ask my dad- who's only home on weekends.     A couple of weeks ago, the biopsy of the mass came back inconclusive. But when I last asked my dad and brother what was up, they said its cancerous afterall..

She has had someone with her from open to close- whether its my aunts, uncle or my mom. My mom is ALWAYS there. Seriously.  It's either work, rehab, or bed for her these days. I cant even remember the last time I saw her outside of the rehab.  My mom is a worry wart and its taking a toll on her. She didnt eat right to begin with- like some days shed have a bowl of chips for dinner- but now its worse. She's not getting any sleep. Its a concern to us all.  She just brushes it off....     I understand that its her mother and she wants to be there with her as much as possible but at the same time she has to take care of herself so we can have her for as long as we can- is that selfish?      I know too many people my age with deceased parents and it scares the crap out of me.


 Its not fair to Jacob, her only grandson, that the only place he can see his grandmother is in a rehab facility.  Its not a place for a baby. It's just not. 

So I called my mother and told her this. My dad took the phone and said she was crying. I didnt mean to make her cry. I was just trying to make her understand that we need her too. Everyone keeps telling her that she needs to go home and get her rest, but she never listens. So she's got to listen to the grandchild argument, right?     Yeah... I dont think she fully understands.  My dad said she does, but I'm pretty sure we wont see my mother for a long time from now outside of the rehab center....

The land of BUTTERMILK

I'm new to this blog thing, if you can't tell, so bear with me. I dont think I'm the most exciting person to 'read' but this blog thing sure does beat putting EVERYTHING on Facebook. Like I doubt everyone wants to read how excited I was about my buttermilk biscuits and whatnot and see all the pictures cuz I'm that nerdy and was practically geeking out.

I have never made biscuits from scratch, only the packaged kind. And I LOVE buttermilk biscuits. Like I would go to Hardees and order a plain biscuit for breakfast or go to KFC just to order a box of biscuits and have them eaten before I even got home.  Hell, when I worked at McDonalds I would be sure there were enough biscuits for me to take home and eat- aside from the griddles and occassional chicken nugget it was pretty much the only food i'd eat there.  Naturally I decided that I had to make them myself, so I finally did it!

I was told to use LOTS of flour...

Mmm...buttermilk....

My ghetto biscuit cutter. One of these days, I'll invest in a real one....

don't hate on that hot mess that will be the happiness of biscuits!

My assistant! Ain't he precious!!!!!!!

they look fresh from the box from McD's! Only better....

  I always thought that biscuits would be something 'hard' to make, which is why i waited so long to make them, but it was actually real easy!  I think it was easier to make these than sugar cookies!!!   And they tasted DAMN good! I just wish I wouldve made them thicker... Next time... def next time.

I found the recipe through pinterest on "The Country Couponer"- check it out!

Best Buttermilk Biscuits- Country Couponer

Since I was making buttermilk biscuits, I just had to make buttermilk oven fried chicken!   It had to be oven fried, because I dont pan fry- I'm a chicken when it comes to popping oil, and I didnt want to deal with the mess of my deep fryer.    I pretty much winged it.....  it was DELISH!





This makes me want to cook more, but I dont like the mess it leaves....

Looks like I'll be keeping buttermilk in the fridge from now on....  =)

Healthy Cookies? Say what?!

Like most people, I'm always trying to find ways to eat healthier- especially now that I've got Jacob. But its easier said than done! So when I saw a recipe for 'healthy' pb chocolate chips cookies, I just HAD to try it. Instead of flour, its made with chickpeas, so it sounds a little sketch......

                                    I was dying to have another excuse to use that processor!

The rounded ones look much better than the 'flattened' ones. And yes, I realize they dont look the most appetizing. The blog I found the recipe on makes them look MUCH better! Don't you just hate when that happens?!

These cookies werent too shabby. I'd definitely make them more for Jacob, but I won't be making them for christmas or anything. Joshy still hasnt tried them yet, so the verdict is still out. But I've gotta say, for being made out of a can of beans, theyre pretty bang-a-rang!

The blogger, Texaerin, says that they taste best when warm/heated in the microwave. I thought that that was crazy talk but she was totally right.

Here's the link for the recipe...

http%3A%2F%2Fwww.texanerin.com%2F2012%2F04%2Fgrain-free-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip.html&h=4AQGpkdwGAQHWou9q9yOGKPZifKYTN1voAqS4kj4tNyzGcw&enc=AZMuTs33m8eY3rVJFy2OhCJArg8VTtPsFTSLF9GmSGtfy-9lpLYX9yaKQ1LWYh993iStuTQzrx-3FFduVDwFM6BS_jt3mIsT8_zmTeF-Gj7Feg