Snapshots... last day of summer

The house is extra quiet this morning, as Janie and CJ headed back to school bright and early. The excitement of the first day of school is always a little bittersweet, and although I know it will be a wonderfully exciting year for them, it is sad to see my buddies leave (and even sadder to see them growing up so quickly.) We spent yesterday having a proper "last day of summer,"  filled to the brim with all the foolishness that entails. 

We took the pups for a nice, long walk. They seemed to enjoy it, but they were clamoring for water as soon as we got back.

On a whim, I purchased a seafoam green beach cruiser (it seemed like the appropriate thing to do.) We had a time fitting it in my car and CJ dubbed it "the reject bike." I find it quite nice, though.

 Of course we stopped for ice cream...

and let our silliness get the best of us!

Happy first day of 8th and 10th grade, kittens! You are smart and silly, strong and kind. But most of all, you are His and you are mine. I couldn't ask for better people to spend my summer with.

Skinny Cow

The combination of the recent sunshiney, warm weather and my terribly achey throat left me craving these little puppies...

Well, let's be real, I have been craving anything that will soothe this sore pharynx (or is it larynx?) Anyway, these Skinny Cow Truffle Bars are perfection. And ringing in right at 100 calories a piece, I don't feel too bad for eating three of them in one sitting (because we all know I have no restraint when it comes to ice cream.) Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't compare these things to a salad (I might be sick, but I'm not delusional) but they do make a lovely-little-moderately-healthy snack or dessert. 

And yes, mom, I am going to the doctor tomorrow morning.

for the love of all that's frozen...

I would have a lot more respect for Ben and Jerry’s if they would just accept the fact that no person in their right mind would eat a pint of their frozen goodness in 4 sittings. Ok, strike that. No person in their right mind would buy a pint of the little temptress in the first place. You buy Ben and Jerry’s because you’re NOT in your right mind. You’re emotionally vulnerable and unstable. Blame it on the whoremones, boy problems, work/school-related stress, or any combination of the above. You buy Ben and Jerry’s because it is the only thing that makes sense in your delusional mind.

Insult to injury is the fact that you obviously aren’t capable of making a rational decision (why else would you be buying ice cream) and to make matters worse you are now forced to decide between Mud Pie, Chocolate Macadamia, Chubby Hubby, and My Chihuahua Bites (wait... I think that last one might be an OPI). Anyways… you get the picture. The bottom line is that all you want is to drown you sorrows in a sea of chocolate and now you are forced to choose between the chocolate ice cream with a coffee liqueur swirl and the chocolate ice cream with chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. You have obviously ruled out Chubby Hubby because a. chubby is the LAST thing you are going to worry about at a time like this and b. it only serves to further remind you of the boy who is absolutely NOT hubby material who drove you to this madness in the first place. So, the most rational choice is Mud Pie because I mean hey if the chocolate doesn’t do the trick the Bailey’s absolutely will.

I highly recommend taking a spoon to the grocery store with you, because when that little Jezebel is riding shotgun and you still have a 5 minute drive home you could end up doing questionable things while waiting for that darn light to turn green. I mean I’m not going to judge you for eating it with your hands, but the guy sitting beside you at the intersection might not be so understanding.

Once you have downed the thing in what always seems to be record time, the sorrow you felt over your miserable love life, your absurd professor, or the Mt. Vesuvius on your forehead is NOTHING compared to the disgust you feel over inhaling enough ice cream to feed the average American family. 

4 servings in 18.6 seconds? That’s nothing to be ashamed of; you may have actually qualified to sign with the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE). Kobayashi would be proud.