St Joe's Festirama

Tofu Pie

I love a good "secret ingredient" dish.  It's fun - no one can guess what makes it either so good, so bad, or so healthy in this case!  I saw this on some TV cooking show and went hunting for it.   Chocolate Covered Katie is a great blog and I used her recipe for the pie I made for Mother's Day.

The only changes I made were that I used honey and not agave and that I went crustless, but believe you me, this pie was really delicious, especially for those watching their sugar and calories.  The chocolate chips I used were the 60% dark cacao kind and I love those.  This pie is really rich and amazing.  I would recommend some Cool Whhhhip (Brian!).  

I was not in love with the consistency, but I think that may have been the kind of tofu I used and I will try this again and again until I perfect it because I want this to be my signature pie!  I can add extracts and colorings and stuff.

Healthy chocolate pie?  Amazing!

Uncle Owen? Aunt Beru?

My future brother-in-law sent me this article about a photographer stumbling upon the original Star Wars set in Tunisia.

How sad is that?  The moisture farm all dried up, desolate and vacant for 30 some years?

I mean , you would have thought they they would have at least made a high end  hotel out of it for honeymooners that could have enjoyed the setting dual suns.

Check out the other photos here.

Here is the set in original form so you can remember the good ol' days.

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Have you seen IM3 yet?  For some reason, I was not that excited about it.  I am not sure why really.  Maybe it was because I think that trilogies can disappoint because they have a lot of hype.  Granted, it's usually the 2nd installment that is the worst, and I definitely found that to be true of the IM series. 

Well, Iron Man 3 delivered.  It was funny, fast, entertaining, and lots of stuff got done blowed up.  Plus not a lot of making out and other time wasters.  Just fantastic Mr. Tony Stark sarcastically kicking ass.  You'll like it if you have not seen it.

Now, immediately after this movie (well during if I'm being honest) I was searching on my phone for info on Avengers 2.  You will see RDJ as "rumored" on this flick for 2015.  Eh, I don't want an Avengers where there is another "Tony Stark."  Therefore, I will follow this with fervor so when I am an old lady in 2015 I will not be surprised about who and who is not appearing in Avengers 2.

However, to tide us over, we do have Thor: The Dark World coming to a theater near you in November of THIS YEAR!  Rejoice. 

Something else to get excited about for next summer is X-Men:  Days of Future Past.  Not a lot of info yet about this flick, but I do see our Adamantium filled friend is on the bill. 

Let's just hope we don't see anymore Spider -Man films.  Just stop it already!!!

Happy Mother's Day

To Mom:
Happy Mother's Day to you! 

You always said that all you wanted to be was a mom.  What a noble and selfless goal to have.  The fact that your main purpose was to give to others is truly incredible.

As one of your three goals - I thank you.

Thank you for teaching me how to sew.
Thank you for teaching me how to cook.
Thank you for teaching me how to whistle really loudly with my fingers.
Thank you for teaching me please and thank you.
Thank you for teaching me manners.
Thank you for making me sit in church every week teaching me discipline.
Thank you for teaching me how to sit down and have a conversation at dinner.

Not only did you teach me this stuff, but you also showed me the example by doing all these things yourself.  These and so much more.  You taught us to live, to learn, to love and to care.  People say that these are not things that you can teach someone, but I think that we learned these things by watching you and following your good example.

Thank you for being your wonderful, fabulous you Mom.  You have always been supportive in the good times and especially the hard times.  I want to always be there for you too.  Even now that I am an old married lady and we are friends and can laugh all the time, I know I can rely on you and you are my still and always will be my mom.

I wish everyone had an "Angel" in their life.  

Yes! Thanks Sal for my awesome new lunch bag.

Ahhhhhh.......

Note - I wrote this on Friday and the original post title was "Not to be a b*%#h, but...."  haah!

Tonight I met my hubby at his restaurant for dinner at 10pm. Yes, we both work odd hours and rarely sit down for a meal together. So when we do, it's nice to actually sit there and eat and talk...to each other.

Yes, of course at his restaurant we see the regulars and friends, I don't mind that, because they know not to camp out at our table when we have dinner together. Tonight, this person came up to him about a fundraiser and I was just.not.pleased. I know she doesn't know our history, but I was so incredibly annoyed that she would approach him when he was clearly sitting down to take a break to eat dinner...with his wife.

She approaches, "sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to see...." Ugh! She just kept saying that she was sorry to interrupt (so don't) and that she didn't want to bother us during our dinner (so go away) and that she didn't want to intrude (ok so leave us alone) but still continued to stand there and give him the spiel.

In my mind, I looked like the biggest bitch on the planet. Who looks super bitchy?? Kristin Stewart? Megan Fox? I just had that look on my face. You know the look. The smile. The smile where you don't really smile but move your mouth but your eyes are not conveying niceness. Us, I was being a mega b itch and honestly, I was ok with that.

That lady needed a lesson in manners. Step one....introduce yourdamnself if you are going to ruin my I'd net lady! Don't just waltz in here and talk to my husband, ask him for money, pull him away from our one night a week dinner and not have the balls courtesy of giving me your name. Rude.

This is why I hate and will a,ways hate fundraising. You are interrupting someone's dinner with their spouse, those story time with their kids, their one hour of excursive time.

Anyway, I am confident that lady thinks I'm a bitch And I really don't care.

Baba Ganoush v Hummus

Have you tried Baba Ganoush?   It's just like hummus except that the main ingredient is eggplant instead of chickpeas therefore it's lower in calories than hummus.

That's exciting.

I do love, love, love hummus, but accidentally purchased Sabra's Baba Ganoush the other day and it was incredible as well.  Nice alternative and less starchy if you are about that crap :)

Have a nice day!

Now at Target: Bridesmaids Dresses

I mean, why not?

You buy everything else at Target.  At least I do.  We need a SUPER TARGET here in Toledo. 

Bridesmaids dresses.  It's only a matter of time before they have bridal gowns, flowers, etc.... a whole bridal section! 

What I've been doing

I've been doing NOTHING but sleeping, watching TV and eating ice cream for days.  Sounds awesome, but I have been incredibly sick.  In a perfect world, when you can choose a calamity day, this would be amazing.  However, when this day chooses you and you have a zillion things to do and people counting on you, these days are not welcomed.  Now, here's what I have been doing watching.

Django Unchained:
NOT a good movie to watch when you are feeling queasy.  Classic Tarantino.  Gross, gory, unsettling, gives you nightmares. However, the acting is wonderful as usual, the story unusual, and it really makes you think.  Original.  I do love, love, love Christoph Waltz (and Leo, but for different reasons).  Not for the sensitive.  Really, I had to close my eyes and plug my ears several times.  For real.

The Jerk:
Just a feel-good movie that made me really laugh.  Dog named sh**head?  Hilarious.  Steve Martin at his best.   Why couldn't this kind of hair have been cool when I was in grade school?  I looooove it!

Les Miserables:

Ok, you can stone me or whatever, but I hated, hated, hated this movie.  Not even my movie boyfriend HUGE ACKMAN could have saved this horrible depressing musical for me.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't musicals supposed to be, uplifting, fun, catchy?  Yes, I know the title is called, MISERABLE, but did they have to take it so seriously?  It was so melancholy.  Slit your wrist, depressing!!  Ugh!  Jeez.  Ok, now you are going to be be really  mad, but I didn't really even like the music that much.  Did they really have to make Maximus Meridius Desimus sing?  Come on.   Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife....and I shall have my vengeance.....on the French?  I don't think so.  Best parts of this movie feature Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen.  I'll take Wicked any day!  
Hero:
This was a weird movie that I rented for free On Demand.  It was made in the 90s starring Geena Davis, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman and Chevy Chase (that was what sold me).  This was a dumb movie but it was free and passed the time.  Dustin Hoffman cracked me up though because he was very cynical and swore a lot.

TV stuff:
Peter Pan the original.  Loved this movie as a kid! 
Cinderella - those stepsisters and mother were terrible!  Also, did you find it weird that Cinderella and the Prince got married after meeting ONE night?  Oh well, the old days....
Lion King.  Great movie.  Classic. 
Resident Evil:  The Afterlife also very random because I hate scary movies and this borders on scifi/scary.  However it also stars Wentworth Miller who you remember as Michael Scofield from Prison Break.  Yes!
Duck Dynasty - love this show!
Glee - caught up on this crap.  I think I hate this show.  I fast forward through ALL the singing.
The Voice.  Opposite- I fast forward through all the talking.   Shaki is way better than Xtina.

That's all for now.