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For the Love of Cookie Dough

Posted on January 9, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I am definitely my father’s child. I LOVE cookie dough. Give me cookie dough ice cream and please hold the vanilla ice cream. Admission: I am the adult that actually keeps all of the cookie dough chunks from the ice cream to savor at the end. For my last birthday before becoming a mother, TechyDad skipped buying me a cake. Instead, he surprised me with a tub of cookie dough.

On one trip to Walt Disney World as a child, I remember eating at Hollywood Studios and getting a Cookie Dough pie. It was the most amazing creation. When I went back next time, it was not there. Tears were shed, hopes dashed, and we had to move on.

Thanks to Pinterest, my cookie dough fever is back. People keep pinning recipes for sweets that involve none other than cookie dough. Just looking at them seems to keep me happy and smiling. One day, I do hope to try a few, if not all, of these goodies.

My first repin was for this Philadelphia 3-Step Cookie Dough Cheesecake. I love the concept of the Cheesecake Factory cookie dough cheesecake, but do not like the chocolate crust. Way too much for this girl. So check out how delicious this looks:

Source: evalawrie.wordpress.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

Soon after this some Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles caught my attention. They were also pinned to gawk, stare at, and dream about.

Source: eat-drink-smile.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

I am not too sure how I feel about Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies. As someone who is not really into chocolate, it may be a bit too much for me. No doubt, many others would adore it.

Source: recipegirl.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

Locally, I have tried Cookie Dough cupcakes at Fluffalicious. They were very good, but I was curious about baking them at home. Thanks to Pinterest, I found just that item.

Source: alli-n-son.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

I know that if I head over to Pinterest now, I will find many more amazing pins for things with cookie dough, and lots without.

If you have any cookie dough recipes or pins that you adore, I would love for you to share below. Let me know in the comments and I will come find you on Pinterest.

Categories:
food glorious food looking back me moments photos social media yummy

Preoccupied with Pinterest

Posted on January 6, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

“‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, I was trying to avoid things and got distracted by all things Mickey Mouse”

What am I talking about? Just before Christmas, when I was busy with all things Chanukah and beyond, my friend Kelby Carr, aka @TypeAMom, mentioned something about Pinterest. This was far from the first time she had mentioned an addiction to it. I heard about it while in NYC during SheStreams. Of course, I tried to stay away. Why? Not because I didn’t think I would like it. I knew I would and didn’t want another item in my bag of tricks.

Well, Kelby brought me to the dark side that evening. When I said I was avoiding it, she sent me an invite. Within minutes, I was a sold. What’s not to love as a mother, geek, social media person, and crafter? Seriously, WAY too much to offer.

The beauty of Pinterest is you can personalize in any way you want. So far, I have organized my pins into 16 boards. My topics include:

Disney Life For Me – Recipes to Try – Sweet Goodness – Knitting Things – Crafts for Kids – Geek I am – Need to Read – For Those Eeyore Kind of Days – Chanukah Oh Chanukah – Recipes that we Enjoy – Bullying Be Gone – Books from Tuesday Tales – Just for Laughs – Around the House – <3 Day Items – Birthday Party Ideas

On Type-A Parent, Kelby has shared 5 Pinterest Tips for the Beginner. This post does a great job summarizing things for the newbie getting to know Pinterest. Now, let me share a few fun pins.

From “Disney Life For Me” – a favorite Dreamfinder and Figment post from Zannaland

Source: zannaland.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

A funny saying that several fellow Geeks shared and I loved for my “Geek I am” board:

Source: nerdquirks.tumblr.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

Of course, there are lots of sweet temptations in my “Sweet Goodness” board. Here is one with cookie dough that is taunting me to make it one day:

Source: recipegirl.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

There are SO many other goodies out there, but I will leave you with those three pin examples. If you are on Pinterest Type-A Parent also has a Pinterest Profile Linkup that they are running to locate more people. Oh one more thing, congratulations to Kelby. While I sit and type this, she just announced that she was signed on to write a Pinterest for Dummies book.

So my question to you this week:

Are you on Pinterest yet or not? If you are, what do you like using it for? If you are not, I would love to know what you are waiting for.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #185

Categories:
Aloha Friday bloggy friends books Disney food glorious food friends fun interesting me moments photos social media yummy

Tuesday Tales – Disney Drawing Books

Posted on January 3, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Do your children like to draw? My eight year old son, NHL, has caught the drawing bug. I still remember growing up and constantly drawing with the Ed Emberley books. I loved, loved, loved them and would spend hours making the critters and characters in the books come alive. I think these books may have sparked my desire to continue with art classes when in high school. To me, they were great to be creative and relax a bit from the high level science and math courses that I took.

During our February 2010 trip to Walt Disney World, NHL was fascinated with the drawings and animation area at Hollywood Studios. While visiting one of the gift shops, he begged TechyDad and I to allow him to purchase something. It was a giant “How to Draw” book of Disney characters. It looked like a bit much for him, but certainly something he would grow into. As a perk, it was not a plastic toy or new stuffed animal. We bought the book seen above. We pulled the Learn to Draw Disney: Celebrated Characters Collection book out recently and NHL adored it. He kept trying new characters and making up stories to go along with his drawings.

Recently, a Scholastic book order came home and something snagged my attention. There was Learn to Draw Disney Phineas and Ferb Book that I knew NHL would love. This would combine his love for Perry, Doofenshmirtz, and other characters from the show with drawing. I ordered it to put away for Chanukah. TechyDad and I were right, NHL was in love with his new drawing book.

We were impressed with the easy to follow instructions in the book. The new Phineas and Ferb book is actually made by the same Walter Foster publishing company. Inside the book there is a table of contents with all of the characters that you can learn to draw yourself. NHL was excited to see not only Phineas, Ferb, Perry, but also Baljeet, Buford, Jeremy, and many others.

Here is a sneak peek inside the book at drawing Agent P and Dr. Doofenshmirtz:

During one of the days of vacation, we pulled out the drawing books and other items to spending some time inside the warm house. NHL immediately picked a character to draw. Much to my surprise, he picked Buford and got started.

It was fun to watch NHL concentrate and smile when he was finished and had a favorite Phineas and Ferb character drawn on his own paper. Yes, I do believe many hours of drawing fun will continue with this book, and likely more from Walter Foster in our future.

Do you have any drawing books that your family loves? I would love to know. I would also like to hear about what have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Tuesday Tales and/or leave a comment below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: As mentioned, we bought both of the books featured in this post. Two Amazon Affiliate links are included. Should someone purchase these from Amazon I will receive a small percentage of the sale. As always, all opinions are my own.

Categories:
arts and crafts books Disney looking back me moments nhl photos television Tuesday Tales vacation

The Year that was 2011

Posted on January 2, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is hard to believe that 2012 is here. Once again, the year went by with a lot of fun, photos, and memories. Here are just some of the highlights from the year that was 2011.

January:

Mother Nature started her tricks with a lot of snow that came our way. We had fun making memories with the sled in our own yard.
I started writing Education posts at The Disney Driven Life and introduced it to everyone. Thank you to J.L. for the amazing opportunity. I look forward to getting back on track in 2012.
NHL lost three more teeth during the first three months of the year. Much relief as they came out without dental assistance.

February 2011:

The Snowpacalypse welcomed the month of February threatening 18-30 inches of snow. It left lots of the white stuff and tons of ice damage. Our neighbors probably had a laugh with knee-highs on our roof.
With all of the freezing cold, even the little guy was trying to ride Tony Pony to Disney World to escape. Of course, we were gearing up for Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2011 in March.
We continued to take the boys to introduce them to hockey. They had a blast checking out all of the extras between the on ice action.

March 2011:

Mother Nature teased us with warmth to melt snow mountains early in the month, only to knock us down with an ice storm to remember. Crackling trees and ice pelting the house is hard to listen to in the dark.
A magical trip to Walt Disney World for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration allowed me to see amazing friends, learn, and have fun with my family. Lots of items from that trip were shared throughout the months ahead.
Of course, the reality world hit hard once we got back from our magical adventure. Tough decisions were ahead and left my head spinning. All of this made me remember the wise words of Rene Syler – The Good Enough Mother.

April 2011:

Passover preparations were dominant this month. Making lists, shopping, and getting the house ready. Of course, we also captured memories of the holiday itself.
Lots of moments where I wished I was not the adult who had to make decision. Thank goodness, JSL helped to keep me smiling along the way.
A routine visit to the dentist for NHL revealed the need to see an orthodontist. We made the appointment for several months later in June, but knew the missing adult tooth was going to be something to contend with.

May 2011:

Even moms need field trips. Yes, the weekend before Mother’s Day, Cutestkidever and I jumped into the car for a lunch date with Rene Syler.
JSL’s 4th birthday and new love for Jake and the Never Land Pirates required working on a theme for his party. Supplies were bought and cupcakes were made.
The sun coming back also provided an opportunity to test out our new grill, plant some veggies, and attempt to regrow our front lawn.

June 2011:

After taking NHL out of a school he had been in since kindergarten, TechyDad and I watched as our second grader started to flourish in a new school. Once again, we started to believe in the education system. This entire drama made it SO hard to bite my tongue and keep a lot of things to myself.
Father’s Day we spent a fun day together. We had lunch out, went mini-golfing, and had dinner with Nana and Papa. It reminded me of how special these moments together are.
The end of June marked a major milestone for TechyDad and me. We celebrated out 10th wedding anniversary. Memories of our special day, honeymoon at Walt Disney World, and everything over the ten years together came flooding back. Of course, the day of our actual anniversary was a house nightmare. A plumbing fix resulted in us moving out for several days.

July 2011:

The month started with a visit out to see my brother and his family for 4th of July. While there, we went cherry picking and beat our previous record. A day at Niagara Falls was also included in the fun adventures.
Both of the boys were home with me for the entire summer. We looked for fun activities to do. We often ended up at the library for learning and crafting.
We also spent a lot of time at Michaels crafting our way around the world. Yes, Michaels and Crayola teamed up to make a great passport of crafts for kids to do that were mostly free. The kids learned so much and we found some great new crafts to try later on.

August 2011:

At the end of July, we started to think about a magical getaway to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Shortly after this, we booked a fantastic trip to relive our honeymoon at Walt Disney World. Everything was planned from the hotel, dining, and place for the kids to stay over Labor Day.
NHL turned 8 in August and requested lion cupcakes. We documented the construction process and birthday celebration.
The end of the month was heart breaking. We watched as Hurricane Irene wrecked havoc up and down the east coast. Thanks to the fear of the kids being stuck with no power and our flight getting canceled, we postponed our big trip to Disney. Being responsible adults was tough.

September 2011:

The boys started back to school after Labor Day. NHL loved his new school and was settling into third grade. JSL thrived at his familiar nursery school and we had lots of fun going apple picking with his class.
As a Type-A personality, I am a planner. So it was very rare for me to pack up in just a few days notice to head to New York City for the first ever SheStreams Conference. It was an amazing time seeing friends, learning, and getting away for a weekend. A huge thank you to all of those that made it a magical and empowering weekend.

October 2011:

As a third grader, NHL started to take band in school. He picked percussion instruments and drum practice even got a Disney touch thanks to Nana and Papa.
During the month of October, two large packages arrived to host parties. The boys loved learning and playing with LeapFrog items during the Learn, Create, and Share Party. The LeapPad had been an amazing addition to our family learning electronics. HexBugs also invaded our house for some glow-in-the-dark holiday fun.
Halloween was a lot of fun thanks to everyone staying healthy. NHL was Darth Vader, JSL was Jedi Tigger, and even TechyDad dressed up. Of course, Snowtober threatened to make things more interesting just a day before heading out.

November 2011:

The start of the month meant going to a fun event for bloggers at Price Chopper, headquarters. The Price Chopper Holiday Cheer afternoon showcased endless holiday entertaining ideas. Of course, I wanted to highlight the Decadent Desserts line.
This was also the month that my entire family fell in love with Susan Egan. I had been lucky enough to see Susan at Disney Social Media Moms in March, but her new CD review was a hit in our house. My little guy even had a crush on her and certainly did care more than Nina.
The boys learned about what an aufruf is and spent a lot of time with family in November during Thanksgiving weekend.

December 2011:

The month began with full on Muppet madness in our house. The boys have always loved the Muppets, but the anticipation of the new movie brought it on even more. There was Muppets mania clothing style and lots of Muppet music playing in our house. Heck, I even tossed in some fun Muppets nail polish. Bringing things from our childhood back are so much fun.
Chanukah was more quiet this year as we focused on time with each other, festive music, watching the menorah glow, and less attention on presents.
A surprise trip to Build-A-Bear workshop introduced our family to Snowflake and Clumsy. Snowflake has been on a lot of adventures and even requested a beary special knitted scarf.

There were so many other things that made 2011 special and amazing. Thank goodness that is what archives are for. We can look back, laugh, cry, remember, and reflect.

What are some of your favorite part of the year that was 2011?

Scarves for Stuffed Friends

Posted on December 29, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Days after the boys made Snowflake and Clumsy at Build-A-Bear, a request came from my little guy. He decided that his bear friend was cold and needed a scarf. Of course, what he really meant was that he wanted me to knit Snowflake a scarf. So what is a knitting Mom to do?

I just happened to have a little yarn left from making Cousin BA’s scarf and it matched Snowflake perfectly. JSL could not imagine what was taking me so long to knit the scarf. I mean hello, it was not finished in 20 minutes! That night while he was sleeping, I captured Snowflake to measure and make sure the scarf was complete. JSL was surprised in the morning and declared that his friend must go out.

Yes, Snowflake went on some adventures since the snow had not started to fly. Of course, once Snowflake had a scarf, NHL declared that Clumsy also had to have one. NHL asked if I could make him a matching scarf since I had already started a new one for him. I was able to knit up NHL’s new scarf quickly.

That night, I quickly used the rest of the yarn to make Clumsy his own scarf. Luckily, I had just enough to make it work. The result are two stuffed family members that are smiling and warm, plus two very happy children.