The peer pressure of Greek yogurt.

I genuinely consider myself to be a trendy person. I like to at least know what the cool kids are up to, even if I don't actually participate in the reindeer games. (See also: Uggs, leggings & ombre hair.)

And this new cultural craze around Greek yogurt is something even I cannot ignore. So says advertising and the Internets (and we all know if the Internets say so that it MUST be true!): It's healthy! It's full of calcium! It's exotic & creamy and LOOK! John Stamos even says so!

And, seriously. If John Stamos says I should do it, I'm going to listen. Simple as that.

Let's be clear: I love, love, love the Ben & Jerry's version of Greek Yogurt. So why wouldn't I like the original gangster versions from the likes of Chobani, Fage, Oikos and other ridiculous brand names that no one in their right mind can actually pronounce? 

The quick answer? BECAUSE IT IS AWFUL.

People, I tried. I honestly did. I wanted so badly to fit in with the cool kids and have a trendy and delightful snack of Greek yogurt around 11 am, pulled from a thirty-one monogrammed lunch bag just before I performed a brisk walk around campus in my Lulu Lemon spandex and then sped off in a white Lexus SUV. But here's the thing: I don't have a thirty-one lunch bag; Greek yogurt is awful; spandex is a privilege, not a right; and damnit, I drive American and white cars are awful.

Ask the nice men and women at Kroger: I've purchased every brand, every flavor. It blows. It tastes like sour cream because it IS sour cream. With fruit. And even John Stamos can't trick me of that. Sour cream belongs on nachos, baked potatoes, tacos, chili and other savory, non-breakfast item. 

I caved to the peer pressure and look how it turned out for me. Probably $30 wasted on pretend, fruit sour cream and roughly 20 activations of my gag reflex. John Stamos? You've lied to me. I feel so very, very betrayed. It's a good thing you still have that hair and those dimples, otherwise we'd be finished. FINISHED, I tell you.

Now, back to watching 'Full House' reruns and dreaming of the good ol' days...

He comes by it naturally.

Getting into a morning routine in the new house has been interesting. You see, in our old house, everything was no more than 10 feet from anything else. When we were getting ready in our one bathroom in the mornings, Alex's room was three steps away. If he was up and watching cartoons, that was six steps away. If we wanted a glass of water from the kitchen, 15 steps. You get my point.

So, mornings in the new house have just taken some getting used to.

I'm not sure if it was the transition from crib to big boy bed, but this kid is NOT a morning person. (See also: gets it from his Momma.) Anyway, the new part of our morning routine (after 17 songs, turning on all the lights, opening his shades and finally just pulling him out of bed) is that he gets dressed and comes back into our bed to sleep some more.

I'd by lying if I said I wasn't tempted to join him.

For example, I give to you Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning of this week, in pictures:

I get it, kid. I toooooooootally get it.

My, how time flies.

Give the people what they want.

And today, you all want 2 things. 1) Video of the actual fire from yesterday's preview video. And I'm told that it's in the works and will be released soon. Get your popcorn ready.

And B) Everyone wants another recipe. Well, maybe not, but I made this butternut squash soup on Sunday and it's seriously so delicious and perfect for fall. And easy! And cheap! Squash are like 65 cents at Aldi, so hop on that!

You'll need:
- 1/2 of a large sweet onion, chopped (GG would want you to use a Vidalia)
- 5 tablespoons butter (real butter...and if you drop in an extra tablespoon or two I won't tell!)
- 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (this is like a medium sized squash...maybe 2 lbs.)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram (No idea what this was before this recipe, but it's a spice. Go figure.)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 (8 oz.) package of cream cheese (do yourself a favor and DON'T get the reduced fat crap)
- salt, to taste

Then do this:
1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in butter until tender. Add squash, broth, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree everything in the pot with the cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

It's so good. Like, punch-yourself-in-the-face good. Next time I'm going to add some crab or shrimp chunks and some corn to make it like a chow-dah. Let me know if you try it!

I don't even know what to title this post.

Joe and I had an unexpected week off last week, so we laid low and did a whole bunch of nothing. Well, if nothing equates to a spontaneous trip to Chicago, late-night ice cream runs with friends, cider mills and lots of home organizing. Like I said, nothing.

Anyway, in the interest of being too lazy to blog about my week, I'd like to share the following video which was created by my cousin, Jeremy. You don't really need much backstory to understand it, except that my Dad (Greg) and his brothers like to light shit on fire. A lot. And they also like beer. A lot.

My treasure box.

The 5 year anniversary "traditional" gift is wood (snicker, snicker). And in addition to the gifts Joey got me (more on that later), he had some special help with a gift from Alex.

He asked Aunt Jane if they could do a wood craft that day, and boy, did she deliver. This was my first legit "Mom cry" over a handmade present.

The world's greatest treasure chest.

The back of the lid and bottom of box.

Oh, I know! Isn't is just the BEST? I keep all my most precious treasures in it, and it will probably go down in the books as one of the best things he's ever made me. I love how there's a bigger jewel in the center of the lid to help remove it...and I can just picture how careful he was with his little tongue stuck out, gluing all the rest of the sticks and gems in place.

And look at how good he's getting at writing his name! *sniffle*

I will never forget.

It was my freshman year of college. My roomie had just left for class and I was watching the news getting ready for the day. When I saw the unthinkable, I ran into the hall looking for someone, anyone with answers. I nearly ran into another friend, who had just ran out of his dorm room, too. We sat together for most of the morning and into the afternoon, filled with fear, sadness and anger. I will never forget.

And although Alex is too young to remember, I will teach him about the tragedy of that day when he is old enough to really understand the gravity of the situation. For now, his young mind knows that bad people exist, and sometimes they do very bad things.

More importantly, however, the boy is PROUD to be an American, and I am proud to be his Momma.