Have you ever seen a reindeer fly?

Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating today!

And if you aren't- Happy Holidays!

Today was a fantastic day! I slept in until 8:30ish which to

me means- I'm getting older. I can remember waking up

at 4am each year. Not anymore.

We started by cooking for today. I made Red Velvet

Brownies with Cream Cheese Frosting! The idea came from

Julie over at PB Fingers. 

Here are the ingredients:

Brownies:

1 box of red velvet cake mix

3/4 cup melted butter (I didn't use all of the butter

and I used faux butter/margarine.)

1 egg 

1/2 cup water

mix butter, egg and water first.

mix in cake mix til fully blended.

put in greased(pam spray) pan and bake at 325 for 25-30 mins

when they are done- let them cool. 

I put mine in the fridge. I couldn't wait to test them!

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package fat free cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

tsp vanilla

mix until smooth

frost the brownies. I also put green sprinkles

on for the holiday.

They were a hit. But I only had a nibble because I

wanted to save all the space I could for the main event.

I really like baking and doing new recipes but I also

try not to eat a lot of sweets. I heavily rely on others

to eat my creations.

We opened presents.

Lily definitely had the most! She got a whole new barbie

princess dream house and 4 dolls to go with it. The

list goes on.

We all had some dinner together.

I think Lobster should be the Maine tradition from now

on. we also had prime rib and all the fixings. We had a fantastic day 

and now everyone is passing out while we watch the 

Santa Claus.Absolutely one of my favorite movies.

"Have you ever seen a reindeer fly?"

"No- have you ever seen a million dollars? Just because

you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

There goes the bride.

I had yet another awesome weekend in Maine.

I took a long weekend to do some quality fam hang time.

On Friday I took Lily to see The Lion King in 3D.

We had some fun after the movie.

She tested some beds at Kohls.

We got home and played with the replacement dog.

Bruno!

My fun wasn't over.

I decided I could afford to have drinks with a friend the night before the wedding.

We had the best beer sampler everrrr at the Liberal Cup.

But it was early to bed and early to rise. I had a wedding to get to!

Kayla was a beautiful bride and it was a beautiful day.

We busted some moves and danced the night away.

I spent Sunday at home with my fam. Getting some sleep and trying to eat some food.

Today was a Monday. You know how Monday's go.

I worked the day away and then made a delicious dinner.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna. Here is what's up:

1 spaghetti squash

1/2c ricotta cheese (I used part skim)

mozzarella cheese (I used part skim)

Parmesan cheese (just a dusting)

1 c pasta sauce

mushrooms (optional)

Cut squash in half and bake at 425 until you can pierce the skin. About 20 minutes. Remove from oven but leave oven on.

Saute mushrooms with some garlic and olive oil.

Sauce the bottom of your pan.

Layer in squash, sauce, ricotta, mushrooms and mozzarella. I did two full layers.

Finish with some parm on top and bake.

So delicious!

Overall- a pretty decent weekend. A few bumps along the way. One even gave me a flat tire.

See-ya later bank account. My car is getting repaired as we speak. Turns out I need new brakes as well.

Good thing I have a birthday coming up to receive these goodies as a gift.

I have to wake up for an early morning run tomorrow. I signed myself up for a 16 miler. Ok- it's not until May so I have plenty of time to prepare but I've also been considering some other races in the mean time. Wish me luck!

Thanks for walking with me

I meant to go to the gym tonight. But I didn't. Instead I cooked dinner and sat on my butt. I thought I could go after Glee was over but realized 9pm would be too late for a workout. So instead- I'm having a glass of wine and watching Glee. I'm a sucker for this show.

Today I had some help from the God's above. I was walking to work like I always do. I realized "My lips are chapped." I felt the pocket on my coat that I never wear and BAM- chapstick.

Thank you for walking with me, Chapstick! My day was off to a good start.

Today I finally found a dentist in Boston! I think finding a dentist is the hardest part of any move. I got along just fine this long without a new dentist. I kept making my appointments in Maine. But today I finally realized it was no longer possible. I took the plunge and I found one.. ok I found 3. I made 3 appointments and now I need to cancel two of them. In a week my teeth will be perfection. Good thing too- right before the wedding! (keep in mind I moved to Boston in January of 2009. I just now found a dentist.)

Tonight I made chickpea patties! The excitement of using my food processor. My parents bought it for my last Christmas and this was my second time using it. It was a pretty simple recipe and I didn't crave anything crazy tonight. I took a can of chick peas and rinsed them. Throw those in the food processor. Add 1/2 cup fresh parsley, 1 clove of garlic, tsp cumin, salt and pepper. Grind it up!

Form them into patties. Put flour on each side and cook them in the pan.

I ate mine with salad and some tasty red pepper hummus. Life was good tonight.

Dinner was great and wine was better. I'm going to continue my lazy streak and wait for Teen Mom to come on. Tonight is the season finale in case you were unaware, it's a guilty pleassure for me. I'm sure happy that I wasn't a teen mom but I think Maci does a stand up job, much like my own mother.

Darlene was 17 when she had my brother and 19 when she had me. I personally think my mom did a great job. I turned out pretty awesome. She taught me the important things like manners, using common sense and finding the perfect pair of shoes. She did not teach me how to spend wisely, how to save wisely and the benefits of a 401k. Luckily, I have a dad for the money matters and a mom for the shopping matters.

Here we are in Egypt. We took the trip of a lifetime together!

Food Hovering.

Another nice weekend. If I were wearing a belt- it would be underneath it.

Yesterday I headed out to meet Katie at her place and then we walked to Emily's new place for the BBQ. I think I walked 6 miles yesterday. It was also a birthday celebration for Joe and we drank plenty of beers and ate plenty of food to celebrate the occassion.

I basically hovered around this table for the day. I'm always a food hoverer.

We hung out on the roof. There were lions there.

There was also beer. It was clearly safe up there.

And a lot of talk about Matt Lauer. Yes- he has an 8-pack and yes- I love him.

He's on the top of my Holywood list. Look at the sexy squint and rippling muscles. How many older men look like this?!?!

Ok ok, back to the weekend.

It was great to see friends and hang out. I came home sleepy and out of it. I wanted to be rested for my day with my mom and Lily.

I was ready today! I got a quick run in and some pancakes of course. I was ready!

I met them in Burlington for a day of shopping. We had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe so Lily could have some fun.

 We watched the fake alligator. Lily screamed everytime it moved and refused to get too close.

Lily became a photographer and was mad I stole the camera.

But then she got her grilled cheese and life was good again.
We did some shopping and Lily borrowed my camera and took some photos. She will be shooting for National Geographic in no time.

She also took this awesome photo where she somehow caught herself in the photo.

Check her out. She also caught me catching her!

We had a great day! New Clothes and food in the house= Kandi with clothes on and not starving to death.

I love spending time with my Mom and Lily. We always have fun. Mostly because I let Lily do whatever she wants and my mom has to be the bad cop. I can't wait to see them again in a couple weeks!

I got home and was starving and whipped up something quick. I took broccoli, cole slaw mix, faux chicken and peanut sauce. Saute and Voila. Dinner in a flash.

I'm ready for the work week and my coffee breaks. They always bring a fun conversations. Last week we talked about non-negotiables in a relationship. I've come up with a few of mine:

1- You must love dogs. Or be open to loving them.
2- You must like travel. Or be open to traveling. Or daydream about getting away.
3- You must love food. I love to cook. Maybe you don't so hopefully you at least will eat what I cook.
4- You must enjoy being somewhat healthy and being outdoors.

I personally think these are all valid points for my life. Maybe your's are different. You might like cats or maybe you like eating and need someone to cook for you. Point is that we all have things we look for in someone/partner. In reality, someone might come along that doesn't fit the mold and our minds change completely.