S’mores Cheesecake, originally uploaded by Kim Reed.

I made a cheesecake for the first time ever for my sister-in-law’s birthday. It’s a graham cracker crust (I made it myself!), chocolate cheesecake (from scratch!) and then a marshmallow meringue topping, served with raspberries and blueberries. I was worried that it would look okay but taste bad, but it tasted pretty awesome! I was really proud of myself; I love to cook but I don’t bake much because i don’t have the patience for measuring. And this involved a double-boiler (which I don’t own and had to improvise with a saucepan and a metal mixing bowl).

Max Begoggled, originally uploaded by Kim Reed.

The boys spent some quality time in the pool this weekend. I babysat for them on Friday night because it was their parents’ 10th wedding anniversary and we had an awesome time. We’re going to our cottage for the 4th and I can’t wait! It’s always a good time.

It kind of annoyed me that this NYT article about how the suburbs are dying because people can’t afford the price of gas to drive to work anymore didn’t even mention the option of getting more fuel-efficient vehicles as a way to cut down on gas costs. The family profiled has a pick-up truck and a minivan — granted, they have two kids, but even so, there are more efficient means of transport. There are certainly valid reasons why buying different cars may not be possible — chiefly among them, if they are currently upside-down on their current vehicle loans, that makes it tough. But the article couldn’t even mention it? I know there were lots of articles released that said that the increased cost of hybrids didn’t outweigh the savings on gas, but I’d like to see those studies updated with current gas prices. And more fuel-efficient doesn’t always mean hybrid, anyway. It would be tough to NOT be more fuel-efficient than a truck.

We were at Lowe’s the other day and some dude asked me what my MPG is in my CRV. I apologetically said it was about 25-26 MPG, and he seemed surprised that I was apologetic. I said that’s because my husband gets about 40 MPG in his Civic. The guy gestured to his truck and said, “Seven. Seven MPG.” Holy crap.

Oh my God, Jim is turning me into a hypermiler. He has a spreadsheet and talks about drafting and whatnot. Then again, he has a one hour commute each way to work, so he needs to be.

So, walking out of my dad’s house today, I noticed that there was a dead fish sitting on the driveway. It looked pretty recently dead i.e. it still had eyeballs. Jim noticed it when he went out to walk the dog around 6 AM, so it was there then. I asked my dad, and he was as mystified as I am. Some details: no one in the family has bought fish any time recently. While there is a creek that runs behind my dad’s house that has fish in it, that’s a good 1/2 mile from where the fish was found. The neighbors could have dropped it off, but A) they would have had to have done so between about midnight and 6 AM and B) it was really close to my dad’s house, so they would have had to purposefully done it. It wasn’t in a location where someone could have accidentally dropped it.

So where in the hell did it come from? You tell me.

I was all excited this morning, because I woke up early enough to actually stop at Dunkin’ Donuts and get a delicious drink on my way to work, which just about never happens because I never wake up early. Except it didn’t quite work out that way.

Read more

In case you were thinking about trying the new Wendy’s Frosty shakes: save yourself the trouble. I tried the Strawberry one and it tasted like strawberry Quik and chemicals. No, thanks.

Stick to the Frosty Float made with root beer. Now THAT! Is delicious. You are welcome.

It’s starting! Click below for my liveblog of the MTV Movie Awards Read more

Dear Livebloggers:

Generally, the live chats between you and your pals are not nearly as funny to the rest of the world as you think they are. They’re difficult to read, and full of “you had to be there” jokes. Take twenty minutes after the event and edit a few things, including correcting spelling and grammar. Also, cut out the stupid parts and add in some context so I understand what in the hell you’re going on about. Then, and only then, will I read your stupid liveblog.

Thanks.

Exception to the above off the top of my head: Weetapidol, which is always funny. And weirdly, the awards show liveblogs on E! Online, which are halfway decent and, I suspect, edited.

Seriously, am I the only one who hates liveblogs? It’s so effing lazy, and as a writer, disturbs me. It’s also kind of 1999.