Some good things in life

Some good things happened in my life yesterday.

(More on the one pictured above in a moment.)

One of them was the fact that Scrubs successfully completed his first out-of-kennel-while-parents-are-gone test. We were only gone an hour, and we allowed him free run of the laundry room. We did take the laundry basket and shoe basket out, but we left everything else.

The verdict? Scrubs did very well, perfect from all we can tell. He was standing on his hind legs, looking out the window for us upon our return as if he'd been doing that the whole time we were gone. A quick scan of the premises indicated that he had been very well behaved while we were gone. We truly couldn't think of much that he could have gotten into, but it isn't unlike Scrubs to think of something you weren't thinking of. We'll continue to let him stay out for our quick trips away as long as he is doing well. Gradually, we'd like to allow him to stay out longer and longer and hopefully, eventually, he'll get the rights to the kitchen in addition to the laundry room. But that's a long way away. Baby steps. Very small baby steps when it comes to Scrubby.

Another good thing? The World Series, Game 5, was postponed and not just delayed. During the last few months of my pregnancy, I have been ready to go to bed each evening at, well, about 7pm. It's not just needing sleep, but more a general sense of bodily fatigue from carrying all this extra weight (and an Isaac) all day long. I usually hold out until at least 8:30 -- basically for the fact that going to bed before 8:30 is just sort of culturally incorrect. Last night, I wanted to see Game 5 of the World Series since a Phillies victory would mean this was the last game of the series.

A rain delay in the 6th, however, nixed those plans. It was already 9:30pm. I was one hour past normal bedtime and two hours past dreamed-of bedtime. So we turned in, figuring we'd miss the end of what could be the Championship game. Wrong! It was delayed. What's better is it resumes tonight at 7pm, with only 3 innings left to play! I think I'll be able to make it through the whole game tonight. Quite an accomplishment!

Okay back to the grocery store.

We were gone an hour, at the grocery store, where we were venturing for me to pick up ingredients to actually make something that didn't come out of a box for our MOPS meeting this morning. I decided to use Joia's expertise to my advantage, and after scouring her food blog, came upon a recipe I remember eating, remember loving, and remember thinking that it didn't seem like it would be tooooo hard to make. It was the item in the picture at the top of this blog: a Creamy Reeses Peanut Butter Dessert.

Let me begin by saying that my finished product looks and tastes very good. And let me also begin by saying (or say, secondarily) that Joia was right. This was not a difficult dessert to make, generally speaking. However, I have come to realize that my lack of experience in the kitchen makes even little things, a bit more difficult.

An example? Well, spooning whip cream on top of a layer of chocolate. How do you get the whip cream to spread evenly without it clumping together with the chocolate? Not too worry! I don't need any advice on this one. My wonderful husband was there and showed me a few techniques in order to successfully do what most of you probably do without really thinking about it.

Drizzling chocolate fudge is another. It's not so easy to dribble something from a spoon. I quickly regretted not purchasing a squeezable container. I also regretted not watching the microwave more closely as I heated the chocolate. That stuff oozes out with volcanic like velocity!

I also learned some other things about baking that I had forgotten since the last time I decided to attempt to make something sweet that required a recipe and not a box.

This includes the fact that when you see what you actually put into a dessert, you are quickly aware that it has a lot more calories than it does when you just sit down in front of something already made and eat it. Woah. This thing was chocked full. I guess that's why it tasted so good. Can you really go wrong with something that has: chocolate fudge, chocolate pudding, Oreo cookies, Reeses Pieces, and chocolate fudge in it? I mean, that's sort of fool-proof don't you think?

Well, fool-proof unless you put Wendi to task in making it. I have been known to mess up Macaroni and Cheese. I kid you not. If it can be messed up, I can be the one to do it. Not trying to be negative. Just trying to be factual.

Secondly, making something requires having a lot of foods in my house that I don't ordinarily have in my house. This recipe called for three of my favorites: Oreos, Reeses, and chocolate pudding. Oh my. These are foods that I truly do not allow to cross the threshold of my front door unless they will be eaten by a large group of people and none will remain for me to walk by repeatedly and attempt to refrain from the next day. But this recipe only called for 24 Oreo cookies. I threw in an additional 6 which equals 30. However, there are a lot more than 30 cookies in a box of Oreos and none of them are currently remaining as of this morning.

Side note: Is it really a box of Oreos? They really aren't in a box. What would you call that thing Oreos are in?

Okay, bback on track. Where are the extra Oreos? Well, as my niece Grace used to say when she was just a toddler, "They're in my nummy."

Anyways, the dessert looks great, and I do feel a bit of accomplishment as of this morning. Baseball, an obedient dog, and a good dessert.

Life is good. In closing, a quick video illustrating how simply good life can be. Again, I mainly shoot these for the Gramas, so they can continue to watch Isaac grow up. Don't feel that you have to watch it. But if you want to just see what Isaac is up to lately, it's a good example.

Here he is enjoying his exersaucer, just a simple little pleasure in life. Sorta like a Creamy Reeses Peanut Butter Dessert.