Her Name Is Cherry, We've Just Met.

It must be cherry season here in SLC, UT because everywhere I turn someone is offering them up. We were given a batch of cherries this week so I decided I’d use them up in a Fresh Cherry Crumble. I mean, what else is a girl half-assing her way through 'Weight Watchers at Work' to do?


I have baked a similar item in the past however it was using frozen cherries which is a whole different animal since frozen cherries are pretty much a million times sweeter. Well, maybe not a million, but a lot sweeter.

So today I decided to wing it and came up with my own recipe and thought I’d share it, ya know in case anyone gifts you a mega ton of cherries.



Fresh Cherry Crumble

3 cups fresh cherries (pitted and sliced in half)

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oats

¾ cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 cup Brown Sugar

¼ cup Splenda (or real sugar – it may be better with fresh cherries, but I used Splenda)

1 tablespoon Corn Starch

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

¼ tsp Nutmeg

¼ cup Almond Slivers



Preheat oven to 375

Mix the Splenda (or sugar) with the Corn Starch in a mixing bowl. Add the Cherries (and any juice) and mix and then let sit for about 20-minutes. It will seem like a lot of sweetener, but it’s not unless your cherries are abnormally sweet and tasty.

In a separate mixing bowl mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and almonds. If your berries don’t seem very sweet add another 4th cup sweetener/sugar to this mix. Add Vanilla.

Dice the butter into teeny tiny cubes. Blend it into the dry mix. The butter cubes will help form the crumbles as it bakes.

Grease a 9-inch cake pan. Add cherry mixture. Then add your dry mix to the top and lightly press. Bake for about 30-minutes or until you see your fruit bubbling.

Serve with Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream.

I Couldn't Wait For The Summer And The Warped Tour



Some weirdos may have taken pictures of themselves with their tickets.


As I drove out to our Pre-Warped Tour Breakfast I thought to myself that I am, unfortunately, not aging in reverse and... eventually I should probably stop going to crazy outdoor concerts such as The Vans Warped Tour. You know, grueling heat, dirt, dehydration, the kids. However, that day didn't come this year.



So, while I still am young enough to keep on keepin on here is a semi-quick recap of  our Warped Tour Extravaganza 2012.



We got fueled up for the concert splitting a delicious order of Eggs Florentine Benedict at Mimi's Cafe in Murray. So good!


Jessica with her breakfast.



Who takes pictures of their breakfast, hmm??

This can of purple stuff (under the guise of a big ol energy drink or tea or at least that was what we hoped they thought) may or may not have been shared in the LOOOOONG line to get in to the event. It also may or may not have inspired the words, and I quote "We just wanted to let you know that the music you write really means a lot to us." when we ran into one of our most favorite singers right off.

Arrival time! Best little Warped Tour attendee group that you ever did see.

Marta and I.

Jessica and I.

Marta and Jared.

We were fortunate enough to have some time to get to chat with Anthony Raneri, the singer of Bayside, one of our favorite (mine since 2005) bands ever.

Sweetness, can you believe this?

And also see many fun shows, here are a few pics.



Anti Flag



Senses Fail

Bayside

Mo' Bayside

Some of us (aka ME) were uber wise and decided to rehydrate with Diet Coke (only) vs lame ol water. Note this works really good if you want to have a "sick spell" and almost nap on a sand bag during an important band's set. It was a total concert girl fail and I hang my head in shame.

Jessica, although drinking DC with me, was smart and didn't lose her water like someone else.

All in all, it was a super fun day spent with great friends & great music. So glad I still haven't outgrown it, yet.

PS - I was going to upload a video, but then it decided it would take at least 7-10 business days to upload so I didn't. I guess I will youtube or facebook them eventually.

I Love You So Much That It Hurts My Head

A few nights ago I was fast asleep dreaming of chocolate chip cookies and Christmas.

I hate to admit it, but my pup sleeps in my bed. I tried to teach him to stay in his own, but inevitably he'd sneak in every night so eventually I gave in. Anyway, back on track, the other night while I was in that dreamland, one of the lazily done acrylic paintings that I have hanging over my bed fell off the wall. It just landed right at the head of my bed, not knocking us out or anything luckily.

This terrified Rocco.

I just shrugged under the covers, reached up and moved the lame painting to the side of my bed and tried to go back to sleep. And then I heard Rocco growl. Thinking to myself "seriously?"  I put the painting behind my nightstand to get it more out of sight and closed my eyes. Then he started barking at my nightstand. So I got out of bed, put the darn thing in the linen closet, and we got back to sleep, finally!

The next day my son opened the linen closet for a bath towel and it tipped out. Rocco went running out of the room. I told the boys the story so my oldest picked up the painting and followed the dog out. About two seconds later the Rocco came running back into my room top speed.

Apparently he thinks the painting is alive or possessed or haunted or whatever. He hates it. And of course, we find this hilarious and extremely entertaining.