My 29th Birthday- Part 2- Melt, Finally!

So my birthday was actually on a Wednesday, and ended up being a really boring regular day. I went to work, Robb had school (almost over, June 20th!), and we were going to attempt to go to Melt, the following Saturday night. We planned way in advance to go at like 5. When we got there, there was a 3 hour wait! (again), but this time we were prepared. We put our names on the list and went across the street to shop at the plaza. We milled around Jo Ann Fabrics and then went over to Chipoltle for a little appetizer of chips and salsa. So that killed a decent amount of time. Afterwards, we went over and sat in our car for a few gifts. Robb gave me a new water bottle, a cute workout shirt, and a Hershey's healthy dark chocolate bar. Finally we went in, hung out with a few beers, and finally got seated. Turns out that we missed an opening they had for us, so we were pushed back even further on the list! By the time we at it was about 10. I ordered the kindergarten with brussell sprouts. (Yes, #3 of my most hated foods in the world is gone! I saw a guy eating them while we were waiting at the bar, they looked really good, and figured I'd try a side order. They were delicious, and totally changed my mind about this food I hate. They were prepared with a soy/ginger/wasabi sauce, and roasted in the oven and got all carmely. I duplicated the recipe this Saturday, and they were good again!) Robb got the monte cristo. We shared each others sandwiches, and were very full and happy by the time we left! Finally!!!Decorations over the bar, year round!The old stadium picture in the bathroom, reminded me of sitting behind poles at games when I was little.My kindergarten sandwich and some coleslaw.Take home boxes for our dinner.My "Melt" club card, (which I left at home and didn't even get to scan)

My 29th Birthday- Part 1

This year on March 17th I turned 29 years old! Can you believe it. Yes, Jill, one more year until I'm 30! We started off celebrating by going to my parents for homemade lasagna, breaded eggplant, and a custom Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cake! My cake was designed by me, and was a layered cake of red velvet with cake batter ice cream, and gummy bears, sprinkles, and strawberries mixed in. It was iced with purple frosting, and topped with sprinkles! Delicious! My gift from my parents, and Robb was something that I've wanted for like 3 years! They gave me a Clarisonic Skin Care brush. I got the pink Pro model, I've been dreaming about. This face brush spins over 300x per minute, cleaning your face better than anything else. It's gotten rave reviews from everywhere, and promises to clear your skin and reduce wrinkles. Here's some shots from my party!

I don't know why this is twisted... can't get it to be turned, so just turn your head to the right!

Sprinkles!!Me blowing out my 3 candles!AhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhLike a facial every day!Good bye forever old face cleaning brush!

Who says dogs can't taste!

Our Koby has such a picky taste. He is the only dog I have ever known that hates peanut butter. He actually eats the pretzel outside of the peanut butter filled square ones, and will leave the little "pillow" of peanut butter sitting on the floor. Koby once ate an entire plate of jalapenos that we left on a plate on the coffee table, since we picked them off our pizza because they were too spicy. His absolute favorite food (and the only "people" food we give him), is pizza crust. It's homemade, so I know exactly what it's made out of, and when he smells it cooking, he gets really excited. Well, the newest venture was trying to get him to eat carrots. Carrots help detoxify the liver, which is an area that Koby needs some fortification. So, first I tried just cutting them into sticks, but he spits them out. Next I cut them into little circles, and I pretended they come from his cookie cupboard, like it was a cookie, but he spits it out too! I pretty much gave up on getting him to eat carrots, until just recently, I tried again. Koby didn't feel good for a few days, and wasn't eating his breakfast. Then he was puking a bit, and having problems with his back end. So, coincidentally or not, right when we got a new bag of food, he started acting this way. He didn't have much interest in his food until late in the evening, probably since he was starving. Possibly the food is a bad bag, but I decided to give him a break for a few days, just in case, and to see if he got better. I fed him rice for a day, which he loves, and gobbled right up. I thought, "what a could be a better time to try to get his carrots in him!" I chopped them up really small, and even cooked them a bit to try to change the flavor, thinking he might like them. I mixed them with the rice to try to sneak in the carrots, and this was the result...

Psst. Pizza is good for you!

http://www.wildblueberryhealthblog.com/2010/03/true-or-false-pizza-is-health-food-hint.html

It's a girl!

So congratulations to one of my BFFs, Jill! She just found out that her 2nd baby will be a girl! What a funny thing to say, "it's a girl." Really, "she's a girl," but the "it" of not knowing just turned into "she." Anyway, I can't wait to meet her! Now the Jill won't be outnumbered in the Doudican home. 2 boys, 2 girls!

Snowshoeing with my bear

The last time it snowed, I took Koby to Chapin Forest. Here's my bear, ready to go with mommy! We're going snowshoeing!!

Koby loves to be outside, even in the snow. He bundles up in his Bean Coat and off he goes!

Koby fell in a hidden creek and got a little muddy on the way to take pictures of this big rock.

Happy dog!

Here's our footprints, Koby likes to walk in other people's tracks so he doesn't have to walk in the deep snow.

All worn out and going home.

One of my favorite pizzas to date!

Oh my gosh! So I'm standing in Heinens, wondering what in the world kind of pizza to make, and there it was! Mac n Cheese! Now, what goes with Mac n Cheese? Hot Dogs!!!

This pizza may look incredibly high calorie and fatty, but I ended up buying some high quality ingredients so the pizza would be reasonable. It's made with whole wheat pizza dough, organic hot dogs, organic whole wheat mac n cheese, Newman's organic alfredo sauce, and low fat all nautral mozzarella cheese! I'm telling you, this pizza was unbelievable! The "real" hot dogs and mac n cheese made it phenomenal! This is really one of my best inventions I've ever had! Just look...