The Answers to Your Burning Questions Revealed.

Who Ate What at Edison Diner on Friday?

Nachos - Yo' mama (yes, for the second time that week). I love nachos. I credit nachos (super nachos, that is) for single-handily bequeathing me with my "Freshman Fifteen." Thank you nachos, thank you. I will forever be indebted to you for teaching me about portion control. Or a lack thereof. If you need some inspiration, here is a recipe for super nachos from the old blog.

Flounder Sandwich - Noah. and No, it wasn't that good. And yes, it tasted much like a fish-filet from Mickey D's.

Meatloaf Sandwich - Nathan. He also went with the brown, mushroom gravy for his sandwich, which earned him a great deal of respect from me. Gravy. Yum. Double Yummmmmm.

French Toast - Joelle. A delightful meal, but too light for Yo' Mama.

So, Susie, you won. You get an extra hour of free babysitting next time I have co-op. For real. It's yours.

2 Important Topics

1. How Well Do You Know 'Yo Mama?

Can you guess which of these greasy diner dishes is mine? How about Noah's? If you know Nathan and Joelle, you can guess them as well.

A. The Nachos

B. The Flounder Sandwich

C. The Meatloaf Sandwich
D. The French Toast

When you come and visit me, remind me to take you to Edison Diner, just over the bridge in Jersey. You will eat, and then cry, and then eat some more, and then try and give me a large sum of money for introducing you to the best diner on the 1 & 9. I'll refuse, even though it's tempting, because this just what I do. I am a giver.

Also, look at this piece of banana cream pie. Uh-huh, you know this baby was good. And aren't the little hearts on the side just lovely. I love you, pie. I really, really do.

2. Luxury Items

For whatever reason I have these items that feel very splurgey to buy. In reality they aren't, but for some reason when it's time to shop for them, I feel guilty buying them and usually only buy a small quantity if I buy them at all. Do you ever do that? Here are few of my "luxury" items that are just tooooooooo fancy to buy:


1. Batteries. You don't even have to say anything, but they just feel so spendy, especially the AAAs. You will never find an extra battery at my house. They are all currently engaged and run down.
2. Fabric Softener. I don't know. Really, when has soft, static-free clothing really been only for Donald Trump and Angelina?
3. Hair Rubberbands. When I go to buy a big pack of them, I can't help but think, "Do you REALLY NEED a ponytail?"
4. Any kind of deodorant with the word "platinum" in the title.
5. Any hygiene product that is not Suave or Equate.
6. Straws. I am almost over this one. I find that they feel spendy (at $ .99 a pack), but worth it because my kids will drink more milk with them.
7. iTunes. Maybe this is because it really is fancy. You don't get much more fancy than apple projects.
8. Beach toys (buckets, shovels, sifters, etc.) Maybe because it's seasonal? I think I could feel better if I knew my kids could potentially play with them longer than 3 months.
9. Poptarts. Can anyone argue that these are not the height of primo living?
10. Oven mitts. And really, this one is crazy. You have to have them when you are cooking. There's no way of getting around taking a casserole out of the oven if you don't have them. But still, I only own two, and every time I go to the store to get some more, they usually end up on the checkout aisle pile of 'changed my mind' items.

Bliss on Bread

You knew it was going to happen sometime. You knew I would dedicate a post to my favorite food one day.

Today was the day.

And.
It.
Was.
A.
Good.
Day.

I can't bear to keep this to myself.

BEHOLD - --- THE BEST SANDWICH EVER!!

I saw this beauty on the Pioneer Woman's website, and so Noah and I decided to make it tonight.
It was so, so tasty.

I'm talking finger lickin', mama slappin', eye rollin', mouth droolin' kind of tasty.

But don't take my word for it. Make it yourself. Then remember who told you about it, and think, "Man, that yo' mama is so full of good advice and silly humor. I wish we were besties."

To which the imaginary me in your head would say, "Thanks. Thanks so much. I wish I could really take credit for this. But alas, I didn't invent this sandwich. I just ate it. Let's hang out though. You can come over after my kids are in bed and Noah is studying, and we'll watch The Office. Then we'll french braid each other's hair."

Who is Looking for a Job?

My love for all things sticky, sweet, and delicious has driven me to keep a running list of items I would put in a sweet shop and/or bakery. The list includes, but is not limited to:

1. Chocolate Chip Cookies
2. Whoopie Pies
3. Fruit Pizza
4. Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes!!!!! (yellow w/chocolate frosting, chocolate on chocolate, etc. you get the point)
5. Bite-size caramel apples on sticks.
6. Tennessee Walking Sticks (pretzel rods dipped in caramel and drizzled with pecans and chocolate)
7. Peanut Butter Kiss cookies
8. Fruit Pies and Cobblers (in the fall)
9. Chocolate Covered Cherries
10. Huge, big, fat slices of Red Velvet Cake
11. FUDGE
12. Cranberry Orange Muffins
13. Banana Bread
14. Nathan's Brownies
15. And Jello. Kidding. I don't think that is a dessert. At all.

The list goes on, but I think that you get the idea. I think that I might name it: What Katie's Craving. Because as far as I can tell those desserts don't have anything in common with each other except that I am probably thinking of one or more of them at any given moment.

Anyway, the plan is to get my kids a little bit older and then open up some sort of shop to fulfill my sugar-filled fantasies. I am currently taking applications for cash register and frosting taster. Please make sure to put your name, qualifications, and ideal salary (please note that you will be paid in desserts). I am also accepting menu item and store name suggestions. You will be awarded in futuristic dental money (a.k.a. - a free cleaning from Noah in about 3-4 years).

Su-weet Date Night

We had chocolate with the bald man. The One. Then Only. Max Brenner. I've never actually met the guy, but his chocolate monstrosity desserts are enough to make me weep. Tears of pure joy. Tonight Noah and I met my cousin Ryan in the city for a little dessertishness. We ordered the chocolate marshmallow crepe with gummy bears and ice cream on the side. It was amazing. Whenever you come and visit me, we must go there. The vat of chocolate so loving displayed on my sidebar and again below can be found in the lobby of Max Brenner. A vat of chocolate?! Yes, spinning around deliciousness with every rotation. They also serve chocolate pizza, chocolate soup, chocolate fondue - even chocolate to spread on your toast. It's a chocolate lover's dream. Ahhh.....chocolate.

A Package of Bubble Tape, A Smattering of Gummy Bears, and 1 Fast Break

Tonight we Shafers settled. We started off well enough, but managed to end . . . ehhh ( that's a disgusted sound meaning we settled). We had grand intentions of returning our redbox movie to the Stop 'N Shop and while there pick up some ice cream. This was Plan A.

We were gonna go big. By big, I mean Klondike, Nutty Buddy, or Ben & Jerry's. The ice creams that yo mamma would never buy you. Yeah Baby.

The kids got impatient, so we moved to Plan B. McDonald's soft serve. You'll never hear me complain. I've always respected the Mickey D's soft serve. So, we're driving, and I'm imagining stealing a lick from Wyatt's cone. Then. We. Spot. The. Wendy's.

Oh! Maybe Plan C would be better? We almost sidetracked for that Frosty. MMMMmmmmm.....I like those frosties. But alas, no dice. No drive thru (I know. I thought the same thing. I'm not sure why they don't have one, but it wasn't there.)

Back to Plan B. We pressed forward to the Mickey D's. The drive thru line was too long.

Plan D. Mickey D's up the road. Ahhhh!!! What do you mean you don't sell ice cream. Whatever.

Plan E. CVS. I know, I know, I know. But we did it. We settled for:

1 package of Bubble Tape

1 package of Gummy Bears

1 Fast Break Candy Bar

All paid for with the change from the change jar.

Food, Glorious Food

I'm dieting in earnest today. If I were eating anything I wanted, I'd start with this

Then I'd chase it with this little saucy baby.

Add a little bit of this.

And finish with this. Oh baby, that's the way I like it, except with a little more frosting. Uh-huh.

Then I think I'll linger over a slice or two of this.

Okay, just one more of these.

Oh, what the heck. I'll have ONE MORE slice, and then I'm done.

I'm full now.

We Shafers Can't Do Without . .

Eating Popsicles on our porch. We usually eat the cheapie ones from the grocery store. However, for the first time ever, I got the boys some treats from the ice cream man. Mostly I haven't because the ice cream guy in our old neighborhood was a little sketchy. Okay, the WHOLE neighborhood was sketchy, but we indulged this week because this truck seemed a little cleaner. I'm not exactly sure how you rate the cleanliness of the ice cream man, but I think that should be addressed. I'm thinking a scale of 1 to 10 based on the following attributes:

1. condition of the truck (i.e. no rust, no crazy engine noises, no chipping paint)

2. friendliness of the ice cream man (nice, but not creepy nice, smiley, but with most teeth, etc.)

3. loudness and quality of music (no run down, dragging lackluster melodies)

4. availability of your favorite flavor (don't give me vanilla on a chocolate day. seriously.)

Enough of the lecture, enjoy the photo share as much as we enjoyed our treats.

# 3,915

Yep. That's what I placed in the Run for Central Park. Right after the race, I was worried that with all of the calories I lost that I might lose energy or even weight. So I quickly made my way over to Crumbs Bakery and replenished my lost calories with a ginormous cupcake. Phew! That was a close one!