Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Kashi's Lemon Rosemary Chicken
First why don't we start off with a quick description off the box.

"Grilled Chicken Breast with Sugar Snap Peas and Baby Portobello Mushrooms
Kashi 7 Whole Grains & Sesame Pilaf
Lemon Rosemary & White Wine Sauce"

I have to say what draws me most to this meal is the snap peas. I really love them. And the lemon rosemary sauce is really really good. I made sure to soak it all up with my pieces of chicken. Honestly, there's nothing I don't like about this one. But even so, there's just something missing. It's good, and compared to non-Kashi frozen meals off the chart. But it still can't come close to some of my other Kashi favs (I'm talking about you, Kashi Tuscan Veggie Bake) there's just something not quite there.

~Shoshanah

The Pink Chair

Almost exactly two months ago the boy's parents gave us their old couch and a pink armchair. The pink arm chair, was left in the living room when it really should have been put into the 2nd bedroom upstairs. But that was such a crazy day there wasn't really time for that to happen. Don't believe me? Check it out! So I was fine with the chair being in the middle of the living room then. But I had been told by the other occupant of the apartment, that he would move it upstairs.

Almost two months later it was still in the middle of the living room. It was facing a wall, so it really wasn't of any use to anyone. The only thing it had been getting used for was a place for my purses. I'd walk in and throw whatever purse I had been using on the chair, mainly because it was there, sitting in the middle of the room!

This past weekend I felt a bit productive and decided I would FINALLY move the chair upstairs. I dragged it across the floor to the foot of the stairs and tried to drag it up the stairs. I couldn't make it past the first. Defeated I left the chair right where it was. To where you pretty much had to jump over the chair if you want to go upstairs. If you wanted to go to the kitchen. If you wanted to go to the living room. So pretty much if you wanted to go anywhere in the apartment. I was hoping that maybe the boy would get tired of jumping over it and move it upstairs.

Not so much. After two days of having to maneuver around it I finally gave in. It was fairly late at night, so the boy was home. I kind of freaked out and made both of us stop what we were doing, and lug it upstairs. He pulled and I pushed. Which really meant he carried it up the stairs and I stood behind the chair making sure it didn't crash down.

But now, look! There is officially furniture in the 2nd bedroom!

Mission Accomplished
Now if I could only get him to hang up the clock that he promised to hang back in January!

~Shoshanah

Cake Batter

When I heard Ben & Jerry's was coming out with a cake batter ice cream I had to buy it. I love Ben & Jerry's. Its really the only ice cream I buy in the store. There have so many flavors I love and I couldn't wait to add cake batter to eat.

How did I know I'd love it? Well, I might not have tried Ben & Jerry's version before, but I LOVE Coldstone's Cake Batter Ice Cream. I normally get it mixed with gummy bears and sometimes caramel. Do you remember about 3 years ago when they stopped making their cake batter ice cream? It seems they used to put traces raw eggs in it, and some people had contracted salmonella. So they recalled it. I would have taken the salmonella over never having cake batter ice cream again. Thankfully, they were able to alter the recipe to make it salmonella-safe.

But now of course B&J had their own version. My favorite ice cream flavor made by my favorite ice cream company, how could that go wrong? Unfortunately, for B&J, Coldstone still wins on the Cake Batter front. I think its because Ben & Jerry's mixed in some chocolate ice cream into the flavor. Not that I'm not a fan of chocolate. But having both the chocholate and cake batter taste made it so you couldn't really taste either one clearly. So my solution? Add more flavors and we'll all be happy. It won't really taste like cake batter anymore (its not like it did before), but it will still taste really good. Introducing Cake Batter Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream:


Making use of my leftover Easter Candy
On a different note, Carissa at The Lovely Dove tagged me to take a picture of myself right now and post it. Here is what I look like at this moment

This is what I look like most every afternoon. I come home change out of my work clothes into sweats and a tank top. The shirt I'm wearing was originally the boy's but I have pretty much claimed is as my own, and wear it most always around the apartment.

And I almost forgot. I have to tag 3 people. So Sara, Anais, and Andrea, I want to see you right now!

~Shoshanah

P.S. Anyone else exciting for the Idol results show tonight? Its hard becuase everyone left is so good, but I'm going to say it will probably be Matt or Allison.

Say Cheese

I can be picky about some of the cheeses I like. But the one cheese I am not picky about is feta. It is by far my all time favorite type. So much that is has become a joke among my co-workers. Last week when trying to decide if I really wanted to order a meatball po boy (really a sub sandwich for those of you not living in Louisiana) my co-worker said to me, "I don't think it comes with feta." Seriously though. I will eat feta on a pizza

In an omelette

On top of fries


But my all time favorite way to eat feta? All by itself!


I'll just cut off a chunk of feta, cut it into slices and sprinkle some olive oil and vinegar on top. Seriously, it is amazing and my all time favorite snack. And it doesn't matter if its Greek feta or French feta or what brand sells it. I love it no matter what. Normally its how I decide what to order at a restaurant. Does it have feta? Then I will order it. Anybody else have a slight obsessed with feta (or any other particular type of food)?

~Shoshanah

The Happiest Place on Earth

One thing that does bother me about living in Louisiana is when they show Disney commercials. Because they are always commercials for Disney World and not Disneyland. The boy and I have gotten into countless arguments over this. He feels Disney World is better. I say Disney land is better. I guess neither one of us is really in a position to judge, since we've each only been to one. But come on, Disney Land is the original!

Clearly, this steams from growing up in Southern California. Which means I also grew up at Disney Land. I couldn't count the number of times I've been to Disney Land. If I had to estimate it would be somewhere around 50? What I love about Disney Land is you can go for a day, and have a blast. Unlike a Disney World trip where you really need a week to experience it.

It's hard to image my life without Disneyland in it. I've been to concerts at Downtown Disney. I've held a season pass (another long and amusing story really). I even took my SAT prep classes at the Disneyland Hotel! So without further adieu here is my life at Disneyland.


Starting it off with Mickey himself. This is me and my best friend Sara. (Best Friend then, and best friend now) If you'll notice she's in almost all of these pictures.


Here we are with Cinderella. And yes, I am the blond. My hair has slowly gotten darker as I've gotten older. For a while I tried to highlight it to keep it that way, but I've slowly given in.


Riding Dumbo with Sara and her mom


With Snow White. We clearly weren't interested in the camera.


On the old rockets. You can tell my hair has started getting darker in this picture.


I think this was around 9th grade or so?


You can't tell at all, but I promise you we're standing in front of a Christmas tree at the main entrance.


This isn't actually inside the park, but outside at Downtown Disney.


This one isn't quite at Disneyland. Instead its a Tokyo Disney! On our family vacation to Japan last year the only place I insisted we go was Tokyo Disney.


The last time I was at Disneyland. Summer 2006. I'm with one of my friends from college here. And Minnie!

It has been almost 3 years since I've been. Far too long in my opinion. I love the promotion Disney is currently doing where you get in for free on your birthday. If I lived closer, I would definitely spend my birthday at Disneyland. Since that really isn't an option and we will be in California for Christmas and the boy's birthday is December 23. Guess where I've decided he wants to spend his birthday? I can't wait! (Let's hope he feels the same.) And just curious, is there anyone who's actually been to both Disneyland and Disney World? Do you have a favorite?

~Shoshanah

Weekend Recep

Overall I'd say I had a fairly productive, and yet still lazy weekend. Let's see, there was...

Sushi for Dinner on Friday


California Rolls, Crunchy Rolls, and Salmon Rolls
Did several loads of laundry

Saw a movie
Fighting
Again, this weekend was not one of my picks. Honestly, the best part of the movie for me was watching Chanam Tatum. I was not a big fan of the fight scenes and cowered into the Boy during most of them (which makes me so glad I wasn't dating him back when he was fighting back in his college days. I probably would have died trying to watch them). I did like the love interest in it, Zulay Valez . And according to imdb the actual actress' name is Zulay Henao. Coincidence? I'm guess they probably liked her name so they named the character after her. It had a happy ending so that was good. My thought is if you're forced into seeing a movie with your guy there's worst ones out there.

Cleaned the bathrooms

Finished a book
Strike Zone by Kate Angel
This book was lent to me by a co-worker, otherwise I would have never opted to read it. It's one of those cheesy romance book they always have an excerpt from in the back of Cosmo. I always wonder who read actually reads those kinds of books. Well now its me. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. And if my co-workers lend me more book like this I would probably read them. But I don't see myself going out and buying anyways.
And in case you're curious... the book is about an adventure seeking girl named Taylor Hannah. Who used to be engaged to a star MLB pitcher Brek Styker. (Yes, even the names tell you its a cheesy romance novel.) But Hannah left Brek at the alter 3 years ago to go sky-diving instead. After Taylor learns Brek is engaged again, she has to see him one last time. Cheesy? Yes. But overall a nice change from the chick lit and the historical fiction I'm normally reading

Laid out at the pool

The plans for the rest of the night?
I'm planning on making some noodles. They're made by Ming Tsai who used to have a show on the Food Network. I figured I loved his show I'll love his noodles right?



And of course I'll be watching the new episodes of Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters.

~Shoshanah

P.S. Carissa at The Lovely Dove gave me a cute blogger award.

Which means I'm supposed to list 10 uncute things about me

1. My feet. (You'll just have to trust me on this one. But I seriously have ridiculous high arches and toes that curl under)
2. All the piles of clean folded laundry on the couch. I guess I didn't quite finish doing laundry
3. All of the candy and dessert in the apartment begging me to eat them. (Let's see there's leftover Easter candy, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Little Debbie snack cakes, See's lollipops...)
4. I can't wear nail polish because when I'm bored I'll just pick it off. It normally lasts only a day for me.
5. That all I've eaten so far today is a piece of toast with jam, a granola bar, and Easter candy. Not the healthiest of days.
6. The fact that most of my apartment is completely bare and undecorated. And we'll been living here since January.
7. I am always shedding. There are clumps of hair all over my apartment.
8. I am always sneezing. I have a box of Kleenex close to me at all times.
9. That I really hate driving. And so when I do have to drive somewhere I will probably get lost.
10. Amazing Race is starting, which isn't really uncute, but a reason to finish this up.

Finally I'm awarding this to 5 blogs that I feel are cute!
1. Amber at Amber Alert
2. Amber at A Little Pink in the Cornfields
3. JLC at French Kiss
4. K Pod at Two P's in a Blog
4. Leslie at Pretty Random Things

Edit: Just finished the noodles. Not that big of a fan. Ming Tsai I'm disappointed in you.
Also after rereading the uncute things I ate today, I now remember I left half of them out. Oops!

Chicken Pasta Pomodoro

Kashi's Chicken Pasta Pomodoro
The is the second Kashi meal I ever tried (the first being their Mango Black Bean). I think for that reason I have a bit of a soft spot for it. Also its because its a pasta dish, and I'm pretty much obsessed with pasta. My favorite part is all the cheese that must be mixed in with the sauce. I can never tell its there till I get to the end. But there's also cheese stuck to the bottom of the tray, which I'm able to scrap of and enjoy.

In spite of the fact I will buy this whenever I am stocking up on my frozen meals, this is the only Kashi meal I've ever had problem's with. Not exactly a problem, but sometimes the chicken isn't the best quality. Almost a little fatty. It's hard to describe, and it didn't happen tonight. But it has happened more than once. Even with that, this one will probably stay as one of my Kashi favs!

~Shoshanah

American Wife

I've been wanting to read American Wife ever since it was released. I've read both of Curtis Sittenfeld's other two books and liked them, and I as sure I would like this one I as well. All I've really been waiting for was it to be released in paperback, and as soon as I saw it out, it was on.

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
I didn't really know anything about Laura Bush before I read this, and I don't necessarily now either. Before I was really just limited to snippets I'd read in Glamour and Cosmo about how she was an advocate for heart disease in women and maybe about writing a children's book with one of her daughters. But besides that I never really cared to learn more. Mainly because I'm not a big George Bush fan, and I've always just associated her as an extension of him.

What's interesting about American Wife is it creates a voice for her. Or at least a character that might be something like her. But we have no idea how truthful that voice is. Sure, parts of the book are based on fact, some quite obviously so, but most of the time you can't be sure what's true. It's far easier to decide what scenes are entirely made-up, but even so you something similar could always have happened. If you do have the desire to separate more of the fact from fiction in the notes after the book, the author lists the main biographies she used. And while I think it would be interesting to read them, and don't see myself doing it.

The one small thing I would have liked to have, is for Alice (Laura's character in American Wife) to have had twins daughters instead of one. I get how much easier it is to only flesh out one daughter, but it would have been interesting to what raising actual twins might have been like for her. (And yes, that is partly my fascination with multiple births talking here.) Also, if Charlie Blacwell's father had been President as well instead of just Governor.

Its funny most of the book I would forget who these characters were supposed to be, and it felt like I was just reading a story about Alice and Charlie. But there were times I would actually make myself think about who I was supposed to be reading about. But the Bushes didn't really seem to fit in the image I'd created for myself.

Overall, I did enjoy it. It did have the same feel as all of the author's other books. Partly do to the way it was narrated and partly due to the way it was organized. I did enjoy all three of her books, but if I was going to recommend only book by Curtis Sittenfeld this wouldn't be it. I did enjoy this more than The Man of My Dreams, but it doesn't come close to Prep. I think a lot of that is that while I wouldn't have wanted to go to a boarding school, I do like imagining it. Also I think, if I had gone to a boarding school, my experience would have been very similar to what happened in Prep.

~Shoshanah

P.S. Grey's is finally back on tonight! And Meredith and Derek are now engaged! How exciting!

Mex-I-Can't?

Call it being from Southern California, but I love Mexican food. All kinds really: tacos, burritos, tamales, taquitos, even the less known huevos rancheros. It really doesn't matter what kind it is, I'm a fan.

Unfortunately, being in Louisiana there isn't really the same access to Mexican food as Southern California. The authentic small shop taco places: I've never found one here. The sit down type of Mexican restaurant: They do exists (On the Boarder, Ninfa's, Superior Grill,...) but they really aren't that good. The only thing I really like there are re-fried beans. (But honestly, I love re-fried beans and would probably be ok eating my whole meal with just them.

Which brings us to the fast food type Mexican restaurants. Taco Bell we have, but the Taco Bell in Louisiana tastes nowhere as good as they do in California. Chipotle we don't have. Baja Grill we don't have. Rubio's we don't have. Which is probably the hardest on me. I absolutely love their fish tacos and there is nowhere here where I can get good tasting fish taco. On the Border has them, but they weren't a real fish tacos. Just a normal taco with fish instead of meat. Not even close to correct. Considering Louisiana's obsession with seafood, you would think they would do fish tacos. But everyone I've mentioned them to here can't believe you'd actually eat them.


The last time I had Rubios. November 2007.
So what other good Mexican restaurants do I have available in Louisiana? There's really only Izzos Illegal Burrito and Qdoba. You've probably heard of Qdoba, so I'll talk about that second. On to Izzos.

I'm how nationwide Izzo's is (if at all), but there are at least 3 in Baton Rouge itself. According the the boy, they "stole" the idea from another burrito place in College Station, Texas. All I know is its really good. Similar to a Subway with burritos. It doesn't really feel like authentic Mexican, but its still really really good.

Moving on to Qdoba. I go here more than any other Mexican restaurant, mainly because there's one close to my work so I can go on my lunch break. I almost always get their 3 taco meal. Mainly because I'm not a big fan of their rice, and I think a burrito would feel empty without it. I learned to get 1 hard shell tacos, and 2 soft shells. I would prefer them all hard, but the beans get the hard shell soggy. I can eat 1 taco and have it not be a problem, but if I try to eat a second, it doesn't always hold up. I get guacamole on the side, since I got tired of watching the futility of them attempting to spread it onto each taco. Of course every time I order the guac they ask, "Gaucamole's extra. Is that ok?" as if they can't believe anyone would actually enjoy eating it enough to pay extra.


My tacos with Gaucamole on the side
I'll leave you with a conversation I overheard at Qdoba the other day, which I think pretty much sums out the average person from Louisiana's knowledge on Mexican.

Qdoba: Would you like to have some pico?
Person: No I don't like that. But could I have some of the tomatoes mixed with the onions?

~Shoshanah

17 and Report

I am a little behind on my movie reviews. Which I know is devastating to everyone, because how can you decide what movie to see if you don't know my opinion!

Observe and Report
I thought I would enjoy this movie more than I did. Seth Rogan was in it, and I do enjoy a lot of what he's done (Knocked Up and Zack & Miri Make a Porno specifically). But this is not one of his better films. I haven't seen Paul Blart: Mall Cop so I really can't say how they compare or which is better. I think Paul Blart is somewhat family friendly while this is most definitely not.

Honestly, this is the type of movie that is so bad its almost amusing. The whole time you're thinking, "Seriously? Did they just? WTF!" It did have most of the audience in laughter, not necessarily because it was funny, bot more because it was so off the wall you HAD to laugh.

The bright spot of the movie was the coffee girl played by Collette Wolfe. She was really cute, and the scenes with her were my the scenes I enjoyed most in the movies. Coincidentally, she also had a small part in...

17 Again
I felt the exact opposite about this movie and enjoyed even more than I thought I would. (Even more surprising, the boy felt the same way and enjoyed it more than he thought he would.) Yes, we have all seen this same story, and it was predictable but that didn't matter.

Clearly the main reason I wanted to see the movie was because Zac Efron was in it. While did have a small dance scene in the beginning, it wasn't made by Disney it still had somewhat a Disney feel. However scenes between Zac Efron and Leslie Mann were really funny, mainly do the the sexual chemistry that was there, but really shouldn't have been. Who knew Zac Efron was a comedian? But even more than that he was just really good in the movie, and you could easily see the potential he has as an actor in the future.

My other favorite actor was Michelle Trachtenberg. I've loved her since she was in Nickelodeon's Pete & Pete and Harriet the Spy back in the day. She was great in the movie and even had her own comedic scenes. I know she's been on Gossip Girl lately, but I still wish she was even more mainstream.

If I were you, and we're trying to choose between one of these two movies, its pretty clear I think the winner is 17 Again. Just in case you weren't sure, that's the one that why my actual pick. Coming up this weekend? It's the boy's pick, so it'll probably be Fighting. I'm sure you can't wait to read my review of that!

~Shoshanah

Teddy's Juke Joint

This past weekend I went to Teddy's Juke Joint with a friend. What's a juke joint you ask? Well I'm not quite sure myself, but luckily we have wikipedia, "Juke joint (or jook joint) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring music, dancing, gambling, and drinking, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States." After reading that it makes a lot more sense than the explanation the boy gave me, "Juke like a jukebox, its just a bar that plays popular music." It fits pretty much all of the wiki definition, except I didn't see any gambling going on there.

First, getting there was an adventure in itself. We met up with some friends and followed their car out of town. I decided to drive, since neither one of us really trusted any one else who was going to drive and not drink. The place was outside of Baton Rouge, technically in a city called Zachary. Although really it was in Rural Zachary, which is a nice way of saying in the middle of nowhere. We drove down this poorly lit road in the middle of nowhere (in the pouring rain I might add) and of course drove past it. Which meant we had to turn down a little side street to turn back around. What should have been a nice 3-point turn turned into a 12 point turn for me. Like most places in Louisiana instead of having sidewalks next to the road there are huge ditches. My worst fear is driving into one of them and not being able to get my car out. So I was overly cautious turning around and managed to do so successfully.

We do finally get to Teddy's and park in their gravel parking lot. We ran to the door to try to stay somewhat dry in the downpour. (Kind of silly because one of us forgot our id, so we had to run back out to the car.) Once we were id-ed and ready to go in we had to each pay a $10 cover. The guys who we had followed arrived a few minutes before us and they didn't have to pay the cover. Call it bad timing, because the bouncer was only there about half of the night because the bar itself was so tiny.

Teddy's was really just a wooden shack. When I got there I started to say it was kind of ghetto, and while that would have worked as a classification in California, here in Louisiana you would say that it was kind of country. There were probably 20 people inside the bar, of which 15 were there for the same birthday party as us. Considering what I hate most about going out is being somewhere where there isn't enough space to move, I love that this had more than enough space for everyone.

They had a live act playing on the stage most of the time and when they weren't playing Teddy was djing. Yes, Teddy is the actual owners name. A large black man who was wearing what looked like sheriffs outfit from an old western. His wife Nancy was working the bar; she was an older white woman with long grey hair. Needless to say they were an interesting couple who you wouldn't have assumed would be together.

The bar itself was decorated full of knick-knacks. Hanging from the ceiling were odds items like an LSU football helmet, a trumpet, and a tricycle. Honestly, it kind of felt like a bar you would see in a movie (most likely a horror film). The best part about the bar was how intimate it felt. Teddy gave the birthday girl a T-shirt as a present. Nancy came up to us individually and thanked us for being there.

This is supposedly one of the last Juke Joints left in the country. According to wikipedia, places like the House of Blues are modeled after them, but there they really don't come even close. So if you ever happen to be in Rural Zachary you should stop by, its just down the road from the youth correction facility!

* * * * * * * *

Completely changing the subject here, but Lesli at Pretty Random Thoughts sent me a fabulous blog award!
Thank you!!!

The deal is I'm supposed to name 5 guilty pleasures:

1. Angel Food Smoothies from Smoothie King
2. Jon & Kate Plus 8 and 18 Kids & Counting on TLC
3. Little Debbie Snack Cakes (Preferably the holiday editions, and my favorite of those are the 4th of July versions)
4. Coach purses
5. My Entertainment Weekly subscription

And send this award of to 5 bloggers I feel deserve it (and yes, I actually did this again instead of saying that everyone I know deserves it):

1. Anais at Through Green Eyes
2. Andrea at A Country Girl's Life
3. Carissa at The Lovely Dove
4. Christian at A Domain
5. Lauren at La Di Dah

~Shoshanah

Not Quite A Frozen Thursday

This is normally when I post my Frozen Thursday to regal you all with what I ate for dinner. Last Thursdaywas during Passover, so there wasn't one. Tonight marks the end of Passover, so I could have broken my fast with a frozen meal. But what's the fun in that! I decided to keep the tradition I grew up with (and a lot of other people judging from facebook) and order a pizza!

I was originally going to order from Pizza Hut, since the boy has been asking about their stuffed crust pizza. I'm not a fan of the stuffed crust, but I don't always eat the crust anyway so it wouldn't be a huge sacrifice (plus we received a few coupons for Pizza Hut in the mail yesterday). I searched online to find the closest one to our apartment. Turns out there's only one in delivery distance. But I picked up the phone I called. I heard the woman on the other end gossiping with her co-workers when she answered. I told her I wanted to place an order for deliver, and she told me that they weren't delivery pizzas currently do to a shortage of drivers. Seriously? The unemployment rate is at an all time high and Pizza Hut can't hire people to deliver their food? Seems a little crazy.

So I figured I'd go with Domino's instead. I found their closet location (again only one Domino's in delivery distance. Baton Rouge is NOT a prime spot for delivery, but that's another entry.) No one answer the call and an automated machine picked up. The first thing it said was I could save $5 by ordering online. So I hung up and placed my order on their website.

I was originally planing on having pineapple on my half (my normal topping choice for delivery pizza). But seeing all the different choices written out in front of me I decided to play around. I went with feta, olives, and roasted red peppers. I kept the boy's half as pepperoni like normal. Domino's website is actually a lot of fun. After a place my order a pop-up box came up saying, "At 6:44 Jennifer started making your pizza." A few minutes later is changed to, "Jennifer put your pizza in the oven," and then, "Jennifer is packing up you pizza." Finally it switched to, "John has your pizza on the way." Really cute and personable. And the pizza itself? I'm really impressed with this topping choice! I might have to start switching it up from pineapple more often!



~Shoshanah

P.S. Lora at Honey Nut Lo is giving a way a bunch of goodies!
Kaitlin at Life of a Busy Wife is giving away a blog makeover!

Care for a Kiss?

A Hersey one at least? I'm not a huge fan of them. Nothing against them really, there are just so many other more exciting chocolate or candy choices. And a plain piece of bite-size chocolate, nice but not amazing. Hold on though. Plain chocolate?

I remember when Hersey Hugs we introduced (striped white and milk chocolate on the outside if you don't remember). Those were a huge deal. But now, do you know how many different types of kisses there are? And there really isn't any marketing for any type of Hersey Kiss!

The only reason I even knew about all the different types is because of the boy's mom. Each year in my Christmas stocking there are different types of kisses. Same with my Easter basket. During Christmas 2007, she gave us mint kisses (filled with a green mint center) and peppermint kisses (the whole kiss is red and white stripped like a candy cane with pieces of peppermint thrown in). During Christmas 2008 there were caramel kisses (a caramel center) and truffle kisses (with a soft fudge-y center).

So what are the special kisses in this years Easter basket? Coconut kisses! I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about it. I'm not a huge coconut fan, and I was kind of picturing pieces of coconut mixed in with the chocolate. But surprisingly, I like it (A LOT). Its more of a soft coconut center, similar to what's in a Mounds bar. (At least I would think, I'm not sure the last time I had one of them.)

Are there any other Hersey kiss flavors I'm missing that you love? Or are you just as surprised to find out there are different flavors of Hersey Kisses as I was?

25 22 Hours in California: Part 3 - Afterword

Of course not long after I arrived (22 hours in fact), it was time for me to fly back. I hadn't checked a bag on my flight to California (good thing considering that that went), but I checked one on my flight back to California. My mom is slowly forcing me to move my stuff out of the house. Besides renting a moving van, moving my stuff from California to Louisiana isn't the easiest of task. But I am doing it little by little.

Also going back on the flight with me was leftovers. (The Boy said I wasn't allowed to go home without him unless I brought back food. Ha!) So my mom loaded me up! 3 large tupperwares of brisket, 2 small tupperware of charosets, and 1 of chocolate matzoh. I've flown with leftovers before and haven't had a problem. They've always needed to look at the bag by hand, but once they see its food, its not really a problem. Of course, not quite how it happened.

They needed to hand search my bag as expected. I told the security woman what it was made some jokes about it, and what not. The problem was the brisket it meat packed in its juices. Mainly meat, but a little liquid. So first she had one of her co-workers look at it. Then she told me she would have to check with her supervisors to make sure it was ok. Seriously? This is was airport security has gotten to? Luckily, I was able to make it through. And considering the problems I had with my flight to California, this wasn't really a big deal.

The flight was non-stop, so after reading my Cosmo, American Wife and listening to my ipod, we arrived, 30 minutes early. Luckily, the boy is always early, so he was there waiting from me.

From the airport we were driving straight to his parents' house for Easter dinner. It's funny how different holidays are for his family and my family. For Passover everyone dressed up at least a little, the table was set with the nicest dishes...
His family's dinners are for more relaxed and laid back. Kind of opposite from what you'd expect from a California versus a Louisiana holiday. Not that either one is better, its just an interesting contrast. For dinner there was fried fish, french fries, and salad. And of course for dessert we had our Easter baskets!
This basket is technically for me and the Boy to split. Except he hates candy and chocolate, except for dark chocolate and there isn't any dark in the basket. So of course it will be up to me to eat it all. I think I can handle it! Of course I've been trying not to, since it's not quite kosher for Passover!

Now that I am back into real life, I'm trying hard to get caught up with everything. I've almost caught up with my google reader, but I haven't yet unpacked. (O Yes, I have my priorities right!) So I wanted to give a big Thank You (and Congratulations!) to the newly engaged Cece for an honest scrap award!

Yes, I know there are rules am I supposed to follow where I write 10 honest things and award 10 people, but I forgot to watch The Hills on Monday, and a repeat is about to air, so I am awarding this to ALL of my readers. (Yes, the easy way out I know). But Thank You again! I really do appreciate it!!

P.S. I watched 18 Children and Counting last night, and started tearing up when Anna found out she was pregnant AND when she stared telling other people. Yes, I am a bit of a loser!

P.P.S. I'm thinking it will probably be Lil going home on American Idol tonight, and I don't really see the judges saving her.

25 22 Hours in California: Part 2 - The Seder

Every time I'm back it California, it feel weird. As it time stopped, and I am instantly transported to the last time I was there. But then I'm confronted with something new. Like the fact when I grew up there was no Starbucks so close to my house. Or the fact that all the houses in the neighborhood seem to be sprucing themselves up. And the fact that almost every time I'm home my mom has redone something to the house be it a new pantry, bathroom, and vegetable garden. It's somewhat of a disconnect. But of course, moving on to the reason I was home, the Seder.

In addition to my parents and my brother, the other Seder attendants were my grandparents (on my mom's side), my Uncle (again on my mom's side), my godmother and her husband. While we waited for everyone to arrive we had appetizers.



Here we have olives, matzoh, radishes (fresh picked from the garden), chicken liver pate, and sweet pickled peppers. The peppers were pretty awesome, but I limited myself to only two.

Once everyone had finally arrived it was time to start the Seder. If you've never been to a Seder, the word Seder actually means order. Which pretty much means there a bunch of things that all need to be done in a specific order, all of which tend to symbolize something. For a start we have the Seder plate itself.



To start in the upper left we have an egg, which symbolizes spring or the rebirth of life. Then there is the lamb shank. The symbolizes that during the 10th plague the Jews put lamb's blood on their door posts. This way the angel of death knew to pass over the houses of the Jews and only murder the 1st born in non-Israelite home. (Hence, where the name Passover comes from.) Next is parsley, which again is another symbol of spring. The parsley is actually used during the Seder by dipping it into salt water, which symbolizes the tears of the Israelites. Next is horseradish. The last thing on the plate is horseradish as well. One it just ground, the other is fresh. The horseradish is there to symbolize the bitterness of slavery. Finally we have charoset. The one of the plate is charoset made from dates. This is supposed to symbolize the mortar of the bricks the Israelites were forced to make.

The Seder itself seemed to go by rather quickly. My brother even said, "This used to feel A LOT longer when I was little." And guess that means we're growing up, and have a little more patience than we used to. Even so, we still had some time to snap a few pictures.



As I said we quickly made it to the part where eating was required. Here's a shot post hillel sandwich of my plate.



There's horseradish and apple and date charoset. As you can see I'm a much bigger fan of the apple charoset than the date. The hillel sandwich (matzoh and horseradish) is the last officially event before the actually meal! So where we have...



Matzoh ball soup,which I actually got to help make. At least I got to shape the matzoh balls.



My main plate with Brisket (above that is a tomato sauce for the brisket), potatoes, grapefruit and avocado salad, asparagus, and of course more charoset.

And for dessert?



Coffee with chocolate toffee matzoh



Almond cake with whipped cream and berries.

After we finished eating me and my brother set off in search of the afikomen or the dessert matzoh. Think of it as Passover's version of an Easter egg hunt. My brother though he knew where it was but I of course was successful!

One of the last things to do (besides of course drink your fourth glass of wine) is open the door for Elijah. Jewish tradition says that if Elijah comes at Passover that means the Messiah will be coming in the next year. So we put out a glass of wine, so he feels welcome. Unfortunately, no Elijah this year. So I guess we'll have to wait till at least next year for the Messiah.

A more recent tradition is to also leave out a cup for Miriam, Moses' sister. Think of it as a feminist movement. It's aim is to honor and highlight the contributions of women to Jewish culture, past and present.



Here then are Miriam's and Elijah's cup. Can you figure out which is which?

It's funny because Passover isn't nearly exciting as Hanukkah, since there aren't any presents. Or as Halloween, since there isn't any candy. I mean Passover actually limits the amount of dessert you can eat. But even so, Passover it by far my favorite holiday. And I'm really glad I had the chance to be back in California for it with my family. (Even if it was only for 22 hours!)

~Shoshanah

25 Hours in California: Part 1 - Off we go?

I have returned! And really it almost feel like I was never gone. But I was, so I'll try my best to recap the highlights. First of course, I had to get to California right?

My flight was at 6:00am out of New Orleans. I wanted to be at the airport around 5:00, which meant we had to leave the apartment around 4am. Not that fun. Traffic wasn't that bad, and since I wasn't checking anything, I went through the lines and got through security pretty quickly.

My first flight was from New Orleans to Denver. I sat next to a father and his 2 or 3-year-old son. He was really cute, and they way they interacted was cute too. They both passed out pretty quickly, and I shortly followed. All and all a pretty uneventful flight.

We landed in Denver, and I walked to the next gate. I didn't have a very long layover, which was disappointing, as I walked by several yummy sounding food stops: Jamba Juice, Cantina Grill, and several others. But unfortunately, when I got to my gate we were boarding so I really didn't have time. I boarded the plane, got out my Cosmo (required plane reading), put my socks on and was ready to go... or so I thought.

I hadn't really been paying attention to how long it was taking us to take off until the pilot came on, "No we are not taking a tour of the airport. We got ready to take off and our wing flaps wouldn't lift up, so we're heading back to a gate to check the problem." After we arrived back at a gate he came back, "We're going to run a diagnostic, this will take at least an hour. Once its done, we'll let you know." They put on two movies for us to watch at the point, Yes Man and 7 lbs. I've seen both, so kept at my Cosmo. I sent my parents texts to let them know what was happening.

1 hour later...

The captain comes back on, "The first diagnostic went well. So we're running a second one. This will also take at least an hour, we'll keep you updated." Throughout this time, they kept calling out people's names. I'm assuming it was people who had some sort of connection and they were trying to get them to their destination any other way. I wasn't that concerned at this point. I was really hoping whatever it was they would get it fixed and we'd be off and out.

1 hour later...

The captain comes back on, "We ran the second diagnostic, and it looks like there's a computer error and we're not able to control the hydraulic system. Unfortunately, there's no spare computer here, but we're trying to see if there's a work around. But I don't think its likely it will get fixed. We'll let you know in 20 minutes." This is when it became a problem for me. Knowing I was only supposed to be in California for 25 hours, and I was already down to 23, this could end up really bad. If the only flight I could get didn't get me in till say 9pm, what would be the point? It would have been almost better to fly back to New Orleans and hope they would refund my money. So I grabbed my stuff and got off the plane, to talk with an agent.

Not long after I got in line, they made an announcement saying they would only be helping people who had a connection. If you were flying directly to L.A. once the flight had been officially canceled they would automatically rebook you. After hearing this about half the people got out of line, but that wasn't good enough for me. After all, if I couldn't get a flight in the next few hours, I just wanted to fly back to Louisiana. I was hoping I could fly into a different airport, perhaps even Long Beach.

After finally reaching the attended I explained my situation to her. She said there was a flight Sunday night around 5pm, if I wanted to extend my stay. But since I was really flying in for dinner that night, it wouldn't really help. She asked me if flying into Orange County would work. When I told her that would be perfect, she printed out my ticket saying, "Its boarding right now. Gate 25. Go that way."

I ran to that gate, and called my parents on the way, so I would actually get picked up. The worst thing that happened on this flight? I sat next to a woman who smelled like cigarette smoke. Not so bad at first, but after a few hour, not so fun.

Of course there is my direct flight Sunday from LAX to New Orleans. That one? Arrived 30 minutes on time!

Next Time: The actual visit!

~Shoshanah

P.S. I found out earlier today Anna Duggar is pregnant? Third generation! Can you imagine how many grandchildren Michelle and Jim Bob will have? I'm still hoping for a Father of the Bride moment, where Michelle is pregnant at the same time as her daughter-in-law! I guess we'll have to wait and see!

The Host

The boy is in the room listening to the LSU baseball game. (We're currently down 5-4 in the bottom of the 8th. Let's Geaux Tigers!) I have an early flight tomorrow (more on that later) so we're taking it a bit easy tonight. So I figured nothing like a book review.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
This is actually my second time reading this book. And yes it is only been out for less than one year. It is THAT good. I know EVERYONE has read the Twilight series, but it seems like no one has read this one. Which is funny, because it hasn't left the top 10 list since it was released. So does that mean people are buying it and just not reading it, or I'm just not around the right people?

I'm not going to say a whole lot about the plot, because anything I say will pretty much ruin some of the surprise and suspence. So you'll have to trust me. But as much as I loved the Twilight series, I love this one so much more and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I first read it last August. Clearly, this was the reason I reread it.

I would say even if you hated Twilight, to try this one out. Let's put it this way. Twilight is about high school students and written for high school students. The Host is seen through the eyes of a 20-something girl and written for adults. And well, there's not a lot of thought in the Twilight books besides "Edward or Jacob". In The Host it's more about what makes someone a human? Yeah, it's deep. :)

So am I really the only one out there? Has anyone else actually read this? Or will this at least inspire you to give it a try?

~Shoshanah

P.S. Yes, the flight. I am flying home for a belated Passover sedar. I get in at LAX on Saturday around 10am. I leave Sunday around 11am. So I am traveling for 9 hours to be in California for 25 hours. In spite of that I am looking forward to being home. Although, really I'm not sure California can officially be considering home anymore. But I don't really feel like Louisiana is home yet. I guess I can say America is home, and get it officially right.

Orange Chipotle Glazed Chicken

Whenever the boy decides to cook dinner its a completely different process than the one I take. If I'm the one who's cooking first I have to decide what to make (which is the hardest part for me, and really why I don't cook that often). Once I have an idea of what I went to cook I need find the perfect recipe. Or if I can't come up with an idea, I will look through recipe books to find one. Luckily I have a large selection of cookbooks, and there's always the Internet. Once I know what I'm making I'll make a shopping list so I know exactly what to I need to buy. Of course when I'm cooking, I don't really deviate from the recipe. I might add something extra, but on the whole I'm not that creative.

Then of course there is the boy's way...

For example last weekend we were at Target, and the boy decides its my turn to cook. Well, in the middle of Target, there's no way I can come up with an idea. Let alone figure out what I need to buy, so he decides to take the reigns. He thinks about it for a little bit and decides, "I'll make orange chipotle glazed chicken." Seriously, how does he randomly come up with that! He comes up with a list of what we'll need: peppers, oranges, honey, and of course chicken. He decides since he's doing the main course, I need to come up the a vegetable. "Well, we do have frozen peas in the freezer!"

And once we're back at the apartment he starts cooking up a storm. No recipe needed. I helped out by grating orange zest (because he felt it was esential to his meal) but didn't do a whole lot else. And surprisingly, even without a lot of planning everything turned out really well.



Just don't ask me about the time he decided he would make meatloaf without bread crumbs.

But what is your cooking style like? Are you by the book like me, or able just to come up with ideas and recipes on a whim like him?

~Shoshanah

P.S. Sorry to disappoint, but I won't have a Frozen Thursday post tonight. Unless of course someone knows of any kosher for passover frozen meals? Yeah, didn't think so.

Fast & Furious

I realized I still haven't posted movie reviews from this weekend. Of course now that I think about it, it's not a movie I've been dying to write about.

Fast & Furious
First off let's talk about the title. If you didn't know any better how would you know that The Fast and the Furious is the first movie and Fast & Furious is the fourth. I guess maybe that's the point? I'm not really sure.

First I have to say this was not my movie pick. But since we are good at alternating picks and the boy has seen his fair share of girl-y movies for me I guess I can't complain.

Part of the reason I wasn't dying to see this is due to the fact that I've never seen any of the fast & furious movies. So the fact that Paul Walker and the sister were in a fake relationship in the first movie. Well, I only knew that from the preview, and sure didn't know it wasn't a real relationship. They didn't do a very good job explaining the back story, probably because they assumed anyone who was watching the movie already knew the back story. I tried to ask questions from the boy during the show, but as you might imagine that didn't go over very well.

Not being a car person, I can't say I really cared what the cars looked like. The racing scenes were pretty good, although I liked the racing scenes in Death Race a lot better. Overall, I'd say see The Fast and the Furious first. But if you're like me and you are pretty much forced to go, well, there are a lot of worse movies you could be seeing.

~Shoshanah

P.S. I'm thinking either Scott of Lil will be going home on American Idol tonight. I guess we'll see what happens soon!

image from google images

Labyrinth

Labyrinth by Kate Moss
I'm still a bit undecided about how I feel about this book. My mom recommended (and lent me) this book and I know exactly why she liked it. It has the same feel and is the same type of book she normally like and recommends for me.

The book follows to story lines. The first is sent in Medieval France and follows a girl names Alais. The second is sent in modern day France and follows a girl named Alice. Of course by the end of the book the two stories have become intertwined.

I did like each story individually, but I think was a bit confused by the back and forth. At lot of this could be the fact that most of the reading was done reading a chapter or two during my lunch break, and not necessarily everyday. Because of this I don't think I was able to completely follow all of the story lines. And even all of the characters. There were several characters who had similar sounding names, and I never was sure which one they were talking about.

Overall I did enjoy most of the book. Although, it seems there were some plot lines that weren't quite resolved. Maybe they actually were, I just didn't pay enough attention to see that. It was somewhat of a mystery, but the big twist at the ending seemed pretty obvious half way through. My recommendation to you, if you want read this book, is to actually sit down and read more than one or two chapters at a time. It would probably be much more enjoyable that way.

~Shoshanah

P.S. Yes, I did change my layout last night. Any thoughts?

Image from Amazon.com

Pesto Tortellini

Amy's Pesto Tortellini
I'm not normally a big fan of cheese filled pasta. Despite my obsession with some cheeses (mainly feta) I am awfully picky with cheeses. Minaly because if something is too cheese-y I tend not to enjoy it. So I was somewhat hesitant and trying this. But I friend of mine recommended it. She said I would love it, and am I glad I did.

Not even close to too cheesy! And I love most pesto sauces (unless they are too cream-y. Yes, I have a problem with milk products). But this is a really good pesto sauce. One of the best maybe. I literally licked the bowl.

Another good part is that it was awfully filling. I didn't really eat lunch, since when I got home for lunch we had no power. So besides this all I've eaten today was a granola bar, a fruit leather, and Butterfinger, and a Dr. Pepper. But even so I fell incredibly full. So full I might not have dessert. (Especially after posting about the Butterfinger. I had somewhat forgotten.) But to summarize, the pesto tortellini is an A+ choice. I can't even come up with anything negative to say about it!

~Shoshanah

Aprils Showers

A week ago I posted about a huge thunderstorm we had. And then less than 1 hour later my computer decided to die. So while I would like to post about the huge thunderstorm we had at lunch today that shut down out networks at work for a few minutes, and shut down traffic light, and turned off the power at my computer, and cause more tornadoes, I will not be. I feel that I would only jinx myself, and cause my computer to die again.

I will talk about the fact that even though I said I wanted Megan Joy to stay on American Idol last night, after seeing her on the results show I was kind of glad she went home. Seriously, what was up the the flying around the stage and cawing like a bird! But moving on...

Last week I also told you to be sure to come back from my Frozen Thursday post. And I'm sure if anyone did, they must have been awfully confused because without a working computer I wasn't quite able to post. So today I will say nothing about my Frozen Thursday post later tonight. You will all have to wait in suspense to see if it happens or not!

~Shoshanah

Cajun Cooking

Last night the Boy made jambalaya. Being from Louisiana most times that cooks he winds making some type of Cajun food. Normally it's red beans and rice or jambalaya. Although he has also made gumbo before. And I'm still waiting for the day when he makes me etouffee! But as I said, last night it was jambalaya

Normally he makes it he just adds spicy sausage and tasso as the meats. He used Manda brand sausage, which as far as I know, is only found in Louisiana. And tasso can be described as like Cajun type of sausage. We happened to have some leftover chicken, so that went in as well. That's the thing about Cajun food, you can pretty much throw whatever you want into the pot.

The picture I showed above is just my bowl (I'm sorry for the quality of the picture, my camera most not have been liking me when I was taking it). The picture below is the whole pot even after we've each served ourselves a bowl.
It's hard to tell, but there is A LOT of jambalaya in that pot. We both wound up having seconds, but even so there are a ridiculous amount of leftovers now in the fridge. Probably enough for two maybe even three more meals for each of us! I know what I'll be eating for dinner! And I'm planning on coming home on my lunch break tomorrow to have another bowl. Clearly he hasn't quite figured out how to cook for only two people. But it is definitely nice not having to worry about making dinner myself tonight!

P.S. I think the bottom 3 on Idol tonight will be Megan, Anoop and Scoot. And I think Anoop will go home. And I'm really hoping Megan doesn't!