Blast from the Past

I found an old photobucket account from 2004, and a video in it was from one of my media classes where we had to draw out scenes to show how a short film that we wrote would be shot. Here was my original film, called "Necklace of Love"... :)

Necklace of Love

Sarah Sarah Bo Berah Banana Fana Fo Farah

It's a Friday night, and I am doing my favorite hobby: baking. I save all the bananas that get a little too brown for us to eat in the freezer so I can use them later on when I want to bake some goodies.

Well, yesterday I went to the store and I tried to put some my new best friends (bags of sweet potato fries) into the freezer...and that's when I saw them. A months worth of bananas just staring back at me.

So, I decided once Colin would go to bed that I would get crackin. I know that's weird, to begin baking at 8:00 at night, but once I get home from work, I like to spend time with Shane and Colin until he goes to bed, then I focus on "me" stuff. A half bottle of Pinot Noir and 2 different batches of banana concoctions later, I realized that I have no idea what I am going to do with all this bread.

I have 2 loaves of regular banana bread, and one huge heart shaped pan of Chocolate Banana Bread (so good...I'll share the recipe below!). It's frustrating that my favorite thing to do is also the reason sweets are a constant present in our house!! Chocolate chip cookies? Oh yes. Toffee Crunch Cheesecake? Uh huh. Chocolate Brownie Fudge cookies? You know it!!

So my decision has come down to this...all of you lovely people I will see tomorrow (Shane's family - I'm talking to you), get ready for some baked treats, from my kitchen to yours. :)

Here's the recipe I was talking about...it's delish!! (and only 268 calories per serving!)

Ingredients for 12 servings

* 1/2 cup margarine, softened
* 1 cup white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 3 bananas, mashed
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1/2 cup light sour cream
* 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.



Enjoy!!

Am I Hearing You Right?

Yesterday we took Colin in for his 9 month check up. Everything was going so well until our doctor looked into his ears and told us, "He has an ear infection...in both ears." What?! Since when? I had no idea, which made me feel like a bad mom/stranger to him. I always thought you'd KNOW when your kid has an ear infection...screaming, kicking, crying...the signs would all be there. He hasn't had any of these. So this leads me to believe that he must just be a bad ass. What other options are there?!

As for the other man in my life, he's registered for a basketball league with some people in Albany, his old stomping ground. Now that the hassle of signing up/paying is over, I think he's really getting excited to play again and I must say I'm getting just as excited to watch him. There's just something about a basketball player! :)

Lastly, because they made such a big impact on me, I made some chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting this weekend. I don't mean to gloat, but they were pretty dang incredible. So if anyone ever wants a batch of cupcakes for any reason, just let me know...because I am always willing to whip up a few (with a couple extra for me to eat!)

Here's to a Great New Year!

It has been a CRAZY month! I don't think we've had a free weekend or group of consecutive nights with nothing to do for quite some time now. I am definitely not complaining though, we have some amazing friends and family that we've been spending time with lately!

First, here are some more pictures of Christmas. I was definitely saddened to not have the majority of my family around to spend it with. It was bittersweet to have it be Colin's first Christmas, as well as my first Christmas without my family.







For the New Year/Rose Bowl celebration, a group of our friends decided to rent a house in Waldport right on the beach. 11 of us packed up a ton of food, lots of games and our warmest clothes and settled in on Thursday evening. After ringing in the New Year, we watched the Rose Bowl on Friday and after the upsetting loss, we tried to not let it ruin our spirits. How, you ask? By playing Taboo (utter failure), Hide and Seek (yes, we're all over 12) and by stuffing our faces with make-it-yourself pizzas.

Colin had a great time at the house. He loved that we brought some of his new Christmas toys, had new and exciting places to roam and all these people to play with.




On the final full day there, the girls of the house decided to take a trip up to Newport to eat at Mo's, go to Ripley's Believe It or Not, see the seals, and of course, get some delicious sweets. Meanwhile, the guys all decided to try their luck at Three Rivers Casino in Florence. From what I've heard, Shane was the only one who made it back without any fear of telling his significant other how much he had lost. He actually came back with an extra $60!




All in all, we had a great trip. On Sunday morning, Shane and I got up early (as usual) and took Colin to the beach, which was literally just a few steps off the back porch. We loved watching his reaction to the sand, waves, sounds, birds and all the things he saw on in the sand.







All in all, it was an incredible trip. We had so much fun with all of our friends, and it was an awesome way to ring in the New Year so Colin could be involved. I hope you all had an enjoyable Holiday season as well, and we wish you a happy and healthy 2010!