Throughout my entire college career on the chilly Mount St. James of College of the Holy Cross never did I experience quite a snowy mess like the one this past weekend. Ironically named, "Nemo" has left icy remnants that block in most of the entrances to my house and that make it terribly hard to run my 9 mile route without the risk of a black ice disaster or dislocated ankle. I will tell you though, this was my first time shoveling snow. Walking out the following morning of the storm, not a speck of asphalt, cars, or foliage could be seen. It was a whiteout. SUVs barely peeked through the snow and neighbors with shovels, snowblowers, and service men, all vied for the same laborious result. It took a friend and I about 2 hours to uncover her buried SUV and I tell you, best arm and shoulder workout ever! As my Miami, warm-blooded, frizzy friends and family remind me of their beautiful sunny and cozy weather forecast, I still relish in this white wonderland that surrounds me. Snow can be fun, as demonstrated when friends and I ran out into the blizzard and ate fresh snow and made snow angels (well what looked more like snow demons). Some of my hometown friends have never seen snow never mind even traveled outside of Florida. The seasons are scenes to be seen. My favorite of which is fall -- its burnt sienna backdrop is something we really miss out on in Florida as well. I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed Nemo, I mean, sure I could use a hefty tan and would love to smell some seawater, but the New England landscape is pretty spectacular too.

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Vegan Almond Butter Ginger Whole Wheat Heaven!

My domestic experimentation is slowly but surely paying off.

I made cookies because first off, I had most of the ingredients, and second, because I needed to supercede a disastrous batch of whole wheat dark chocolate chip cookies that really turned out to be a dry whole wheat crust with chocolate in it. 

There is no dairy or animal products in this recipe. It is very easy and there can be things added to it such as chocolate, flax, nuts, fairy dust, whatever. Honestly, if I didn't mess this up, you won't either!

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp fine sea salt

2/3 cup almond butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 unsweetened almond milk (or coconut milk)

2 tsp FRESH grated ginger

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Optional: 1/4 cup flaxseed meal (doesn't hurt and adds to nutritional girth)

Method:

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt

Use an electric mixer to beat together almond butter and brown sugar until slightly fluffy

Beat in almond milk followed by ginger and vanilla

Turn mixer to low speed and stir in flour mixture until just combined

If you'd like to make round cookies you can bake them immediately

For rolled cookies, gather dough into 2 balls, knead each once or twice and flatted into a disk

Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours or up to 2 days

Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper

Spoon onto sheet (I made little cookie drops, about the size of 2 walnuts)

If you would like, decorate with almond slice or sprinkle with brown sugar

Bake until just dried on top, about 12 minutes and allow to cool

Nutritional Facts:

Per cookie: 75 calories, 3g fat, 40 mg sodium, 10g carbohydrates, 7g sugar, 2g protein

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WWJD.

Best Easter Candy Line-up:

5.) Cadbury Mini Eggs - Delicious and hard to follow serving suggestion so be weary. These bags hide well under your bed for convenient snacking! 

4.) Starburst Jelly Beans - I repeat, Starburst. Not the generic 5 lb. pound you get for 99 cents at the checkout line along with baby wipes and a clip-on Purell in Walgreens the night before Easter. Who even buys those? You're not fooling your children with the disgusting coconut and licorice flavors thrown cheaply into the corny syrup jumble.
Starburst Original flavor, not Tropical, Sour, or Crazy Combo Explosion in Your Mouth and Face flavor. They are addictive, ridiculously bad for you, but so good at the same time.

3.) Sweet Tart Chicks, Ducks and Bunnies - Uh, again, an indulgence inspired by my size 0 sister. She would go the day after Easter or Christmas when all the candy is like 98% off and buy bags by the load and get the Christmas trees or Chicks, Ducks and Bunnies for the ultimate sugar high. That was all in the past, and after losing sensation in your taste buds and a horrible numbing and chafing at the roof of your mouth, this habit dies quickly.

2.) Cadbury Crème Eggs - Here's the thing, I am actually not super fond of this gooey concoction. I grew up surrounded by addicts such as my sister and was thrown into the Cadbury fire pit thanks to my half British background. I can have a bite and be satisfied. 
Did we know that Cadbury Crème Eggs in America are smaller than everywhere else, but dont' be alarmed, they still hold the same 150 calories and 5 grams of fat. How American, give consumers less bang for the buck and still make them fat. Did we also know that the center is a mix of white and yellow fondant aka sugar and water beaten into a cream aka don't wear a bathing suit this summer.

1.) Peeps - Marshmallow, sugar coated, artificially colored, lacking any nutritional value whatsoever PEEPS! My favorite! It has gotten a little out of control though because now they do have Peeps all year round, special Valentine's Day, Christmas, Halloween ones, etc. The thrill when I was younger was waiting for Easter season to come around and stock up on them. Now they have chocolate mousse flavored, dark and milk chocolate dipped, and even ones made with Splenda. I was given an Easter basket this year and there are mountains of Peeps staring at me on the table but I find myself struggling because I began a strict "clean-eating" regimen this week. I wonder if I can freeze them for a later time. No? Gross? I used to justify my habit because each Peep has no fat BUT is packed with 8 grams of sugar and 32 calories each. Kill me. Also, it takes a mere 6 seconds to manufacture a single marshmallow Peep with an output of almost 4 million Peeps a day. Where my peeps at!? I should stop, I know.

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APRIL, YOU FOOL.

I AM BACK!!!!

Apologies. In summation, I have relocated to Boston for a bit, so yea, I guess I was a bit occupied! I'm back now and that's all that matters guys. 

My fingers are nervously tapping on these keys trying to think of what to even begin writing about. 

Let's debrief quickly, bullet style.

• I'm really happy to be back in Boston. Clear head, clear mind. Surrounded by some amazing people. Miami, I will be back shortly because I miss you too.
• Instagram is now available on Droid phones. Join the addiction.
• Marlins had their game opener yesterday. They lost but at least played in a beautiful half billion dollar stadium. 364 games left to make it up hopefully.
• I have the Hunger Games trilogy staring at me on my dresser. I need a little more time for the 'odds to be ever in my favor'.
• If you ever want to feel immediately horrible about yourself, just play the London Olympics 2012 commercial on repeat and disappointingly reflect on what you haven't accomplished in your life.
• Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are rumored to be in a self-absorbed relationship together. They have branded the name Kimye. They also should not have children, together or alone.
• Power 96, yes I heard. But guys, DJ Laz's career was over way before he stepped down. Enjoy the nasally sounds of Lucy Lopez and the Yemisleysis girl who wants to give a shout out to her baby daddy who was recently deported.
• Frozen Planet on Discovery is a must-see every Sunday at 8 pm. Made by the Planet Earth creators, it is indeed something else. It has 4 weekly segments and the last 3 are constantly being replayed or you can find them online. Astoundingly unique as it is interesting, it is wonderfully narrated by Alec Baldwin. I envision  him sitting in his suit with his new gingerly colored hairdo smirking handsomely and hand motioning with his rough, thick hands. I watch too much 30 Rock.
• How horrible does Lindsay Lohan look these days? Like worn out K-Swiss sneaker soles. The classic ugly white ones.
• Largest Powerball jackpot last week was not won by me. I did buy a ticket. There was a 1 in 176 million chance I would never have to work again. My cousins won $10 up here and quickly went into safe hiding.
• When my baby cousin farts he goes, "excuse my butt." Gets me every time.
• I've never appreciated hearing Pitbull on the radio until I came to Boston. 305 for life.
• Tomorrow is Good Friday. No meat and reserved prayer session at 3 pm. Quick religious injection for my fellow Catholics.
• Tiger Woods' recent win is a great reminder that sex addiction and infidelity only affects your golf game for 923 days.
• Disney recently released Tangled Ever After. A 10 minute sequel to the movie. If you are just as obsessed with the movie as I am, you have to see this short film! I watch it over and over on my DVR and enjoy it way more than my 3 year old cousin who watches it with me.
• Ladies, enough with the crop tops everywhere. They look like awkward handkerchiefs and half of the people wearing them, should not be.

Going to make fresh hummus now. I will be posting everyday to catch up and reel you all back in with my lyrical charm. 

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She Was Definitely Da Vinci's Mistress, Hands Down.

I know, I know. We have so much catching up to do. So much to delve!
In the meantime I could not help but share this with you all.
Imagine a Mona Lisa constructed out of coffee cups ranging from lightly creamed to black. Well someone decided to do it and it is the utmost amazing thing I've seen this week besides some of the handsome pro athletes in my new training facility in Boston. Oh yea, we will need to discuss that move. Ha. Check it out!

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Random Goodness.

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And I Wish You Joy And Happiness

I watched the entire Whitney Houston funeral today as I tended to some household duties today. We've all made the jokes, heard the jokes, believed the rumors, and said our "I told you so"s.
We are so shadowed by conflict, scandal and controversy that we forget to remember Whitney left behind a striking legacy and a heartbroken family. I will never forget when I graduated kindergarten at Alexander Montessori to her song "Greatest Love of All".
As they carried out her casket, they played her beloved "I Will Always Love You" and I could not help but tear up. As I watch everyone hug her mother and daughter each time they descend from and approach the altar, Whitney is once again humanized and we are reminded that she was a real person who loved and lost, who, herself, was loved and lost, and who will forever be loved but not lost.

God gave me a voice to sing with, and when you have that, what other gimmick is there?

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