Jun 30, 2010

Happy 26th Birthday to ME!

Today is my 26th Birthday!! I knew I wouldn't have time for an actual post today, so I thought I'd share some photos from past birthdays. Some are cute, and some are just plain awkward. Enjoy!

1 year old:
Heck yeah I had my own cake. Not sure why they felt it was safe to put me on a table, but okay. 
Oh, probably because my mom had me at the tender age of 20. Yes, 20. Please note her 21st birthday earrings that clearly state her age and maturity level on my 1st bday. And her hair? That's real. One more thing: what is going on with the balloons in the right corner? Somebody was being fresh.
2 years old:
Is my mom Lady Gaga from the 80s?
3 years old:
This actually isn't a birthday picture. We briefly lived in Hawaii that year.
4 years old:
Constipated?
I really realllly loved those bears.
5 years old:
With my (middle) younger brother, Justin:
 With my cousin, Matthew, and my brother Justin being neglected.
That's a fish tank.
 
6 years old:
Birthday with the fam:
Birthday party at Papa Gino's. This was cool -- trust me. I got to make my own pizza for my party.
Way too excited over that Maxie doll. The girl in the background was sooo jealous.
 Overwhelmed by cupcakes:
Not gonna lie - this was the year I puked from being so excited...or too many cupcakes. My friend was in the bathroom with me when it happened and she told everyone.
7 years old:
Couldn't find a birthday pic, so I threw in one with really awkward bangs.
8 years old:
Cake or a garden? Not quite sure. My (older) younger brother Sean seemed to like it.
9 years old:
Birthday party at the roller skating rink.
And such an awkward photo from the family party. What IS that shirt? Was I an Apache Indian? And what kid likes walnuts on their cake?
10 years old:
The Lion King came out that year so we all went to see it. One girl cried. I thought that was totally weird. My mom put Lion King figurines on my cake. Hmm.
11 years old:
A Tasmanian Devil cake. Seriously. What. The. Crap.
12 years old:
Auntie Tina was singing in the background...I think. Idk, maybe not. She's kinda odd too. Funny, because I'm named after her.
13-17 years old:
I don't think it was cool to have birthday parties in this stage of life and I'm pretty sure I was going through a phase where I didn't want my photo taken. Awkward teen years, definitely.

18 years old:
21 years old:
Celebrating with my family in Massachusetts.
23 years old:
25 years old:


This last photo might be my favorite. In case you didn't notice, there are 5 kiddie photos with my mouth hanging open. Look who hadn't changed at 25. 


Stay tuned for 26th birthday pics!

Jun 28, 2010

In a Baking Frenzy For My 1 Year Anniversary!

Today is my blog anniversary! One year ago, Brandon set up a blogger account for us to share our cooking adventures with friends and family. Our first post documented our favorite spicy Thai chicken dish and a fruit cobbler. It was a slow first six months, with sporadic posts, but when I took over 6 months later it really took off. I'm so happy with how far it has come. I loooooove all you readers and appreciate your loyalty!

In the past year I:
Thank you sooooo much to all of you that have been or recently become readers! I appreciate each and every comment so much!! I'm glad you guys have found me and hope you continue to follow my future shenanigans!

To celebrate my anny, I went on a cupcake baking mission. I had a surplus of two things in my refrigerator: strawberries and ricotta. Yes, these two delicious items could be incorporated to make Strawberry Ricotta Cupcakes. I'm a huge fan of Joy the Baker's blog because she whips up some delicious looking treats. Her recipe for Strawberry Ricotta cupcakes caught my eye so I gave it a try.

The batter that my roomie and I were lovin' probably more than the actual cupcakes:
 
Ready to go in the oven after I ate half the batter:
Before being topped with home made (!!) icing:
Images from a crime scene aka my kitchen:
Pretty little cupcakes!

The cupcakes were extremely delicate and fell apart...right into my mouth. They were almost as light and airy as angel food cake but had a rich flavor from the ricotta. They were definitely a nice change from your typical dense cupcake.

And the baking doesn't stop there. Another lover of all things cooking and baking is my friend Allison from Pennsylvania. Allison has two blogs: One Day at a Time where she cooks and bakes freely with no recipes and The Sunday Flog that features her huge, delicious family dinners. A couple weeks ago, I won her giveaway for two dozen cookies of my choice -- home made by Allison! I was so excited to get my package in the mail, but even more excited when I saw what she made me.

S'mores cookies!
My fruit bowl turned into a cookie bowl:
My "initials" cookies in my favorite color.  (Somebody shortened Xtina to X and my last name starts with an O):

Go ahead and check out Allison's blogs. She's fairly new to the blogosphere and I think you guys would love the treats she makes. She has some really great recipes and maybe soon she'll do another cookie giveaway! :)

Happy Monday! 
XO

Jun 23, 2010

Like Scrambled Eggs with Hot Sauce

Nah, no real eggs in this post, but it will be all scrambled and definitely full of spice.

Last night I went to my second yoga class with my friend Natalie. This particular class was called "Hot Vinyasa Flow." I'm not really in the mood to write in paragraph form today, so let's discuss this class using a list. 

My thoughts:
1. They're not kidding when they say hot. Walking in was like crossing the border over into Mexico and leaving was like stepping into an Arctic so cold that I may have hallucinated a penguin.
2. I made the mistake of placing my mat by a man again. Last time a man sat next to me and sweated half his life out. Last night's man made it a point to tell me, "We might be touching a lot." Wait, what? Did I sign up for foreplay 101? NO. Stay in your rectangle, please!! Random people touching me is my worst nightmare! Please think of me like a pretty fish aquarium, stare all you want but do not poke!
3. The music was pretty, but slow. If I was a pot smoker, I definitely would have called Lil Wayne and asked him to join me for a sesh.
4. Two of the guys in the class wore board shorts. I've seen this in the gym too. Like, what are you thinking dudes? I know it's hot as heck in this gym, but there is no sand or waves -- we are not at the beach!! 
5. I am 100% sure that I could have bounced a quarter off the instructor's behind.
6.When the class got really quiet, I could hear Britney Spears playing in the main gym. I shed a tear. Then I heard men's voices. I shed 50 tears.
7. The class was an hour and fifteen minutes. My a.d.d. doesn't like anything over an hour.
8. I have never seen my body so covered in sparkly sweat. Yeah, my sweat sparkles!
9. How on earth do people do headstands? Isn't that like asking to break your own neck? The one position I felt comfortable in was a back bend, because I did gymnastics growing up. One girl went from a back bend back into a headstand. Who is she!?
10. How many times can you do a downward dog? So inapprope.

So, I have mixed feelings about yoga. Like I said before, I'd do it again, but I don't love it. I'm energetic and have trouble keeping quiet, so I need something not so....peaceful? Next Tuesday I'm cheating on my gym and going to East Shore for Erica's Body Attack class. I checked out LesMills.com and here is why I know I'm in for some fun:

1. Erica is the instructor. I have much love for her. By some mathematical property, I will love the class.
2. The description: "BODYATTACK™ is a 55-minute sports-inspired cardio workout that’s all about improving your speed, fitness, strength and agility." I spy the word 55-minute. I'm smiling.
3. Songs on the tracklist include: "Sexy Chick" and "I Know You Want Me." Confidence boost? I think so.
4. The class is called Body Attack. I love attacking (a man's) body.

So exciting! I can't wait to let you all know how it goes and will hopefully snap some hot before and after pics. Or should I say super cool before and insanely hot after pics?

In other news, I'd like to share a slew of photos that I have taken on my phone. The older I get, the more I realize that I am a weird person and really strange things seems to appear in front of me all the time. How about another list?
1. I only know how to wear highlighter colors to the gym:

2. These people dress worse than me:

3. I make normal things inappropriate at the grocery store:


4. I like putting my clothing on dogs.

Happy Wednesday to my beautiful readers!!

My birthday is in 7 days!