“If Everybody Looked the Same…”

“… we’d get tired of looking at each other.”

Do you remember that song by Groove Armada? It’s fantastic. It actually came up on my iPod on my morning walk with Sadie and got me thinkin’.

Last night at our girl’s holiday movie night, we all talked about how pretty the actress who plays the part of Natalie is.

Natalie in Love Actually

Pretty!

This woman is not a stick-thin actress, but she is beautiful. (Hey, even Hugh Grant couldn’t resist her!).

Everyone thinks different people are beautiful. Today it seems like being thin is almost synonymous with being beautiful. I consider so many people of all shapes and sizes beautiful. If everyone looked like Heidi Klum we’d all be gorgeous, but wouldn’t that be boring? Like my Groove Armada friends said, “We’d get tired of looking at each other.” Embrace your uniqueness today! It makes you beautiful and fun to look at. 😀

And that was my random thought of the day! 😉 Back to normal blogger Julie:

Double Brownie Batch

Last night before dinner and holiday movie night, I baked two batches of brownies for a holiday party at Ryan’s work today.

Brownie Mix

• Duncan Hines Candy Shop Peanut Butter Cup Brownies
• Betty Crocker Cookie Brownie Bars

Is there anything better than brownie batter? Well, maybe cookie dough… but in the case of these cookie brownie bars, I got to enjoy both.

Cookie Dough annnnd Brownie Batter

How fantastic does that look!?

Our apartment smelled wonderful, but I had to leave for movie night before they were done. Ryan was a little nervous about taking them out of the oven at the right time, but they turned out perfect.

Cookie Brownie Bars

Double Brownie Batch

I really enjoy baking from scratch, but boxed brownie mixes are tasty and so easy when you’re short on time.

Movie Night Recap

I headed over to my friend Kaitlyn’s around 7:15 p.m. to hang out with mah girls and watch Love Actually.

My friend Laurel, me and the movie of the night

As always, we talked through most of the movie, but made sure to stop long enough to watch a few key parts (like the “To me you are perfect” sign scene… aw).

Throughout the night Laurel was a busy little baker and made multiple batches of homemade banana muffins for a work breakfast this morning.

Laurel the Baker

They smelled phenomenal. Drool…

Merri and Kaitlyn enjoyed hammin’ it up for the blog by holding up Kaitlyn’s computer with Peanut Butter Fingers on display. Unfortunately the computer screen reflected, but you get the idea.

Merri, Kaitlyn and Peanut Butter Fingers

Look how into my blog Merri is! What a dedicated friend. 😉

Workout and Breakfast

This morning started out with a nice and sweaty workout.

• 15 minutes stair master
• 10 minute run
• 25 minutes incline walking

Simple and effective.

For breakfast I knew I wanted to use one of Ryan’s very ripe bananas since he said they’re gonna go bad soon and needed to be used ASAP.

Banana Slices

I decided to make Elvis’ favorite peanut butter and banana sandwich: the PB & B.

I toasted two slices of whole wheat toast, spread lots o’ peanut butter on top and added the banana slices.

Elvis would be proud

PB & B

I enjoyed my breakfast sandwich with a hot cup of eggnog tea.

Thursday's Breakfast

Pop Secret and Emeralds Nuts Giveaway Winner

Using Random.org’s random number generator, the winner of yesterday’s giveaway is Cindy!

Cindy said: “I try and bring my own food in but growing up I always picked up the Junior Mints.”

Please email me (pbfingers@gmail.com) with your address so I can send you the goodies!

Also, just in case you were curious, the most popular movie theater favorites were popcorn and M&Ms. You guys have great taste! 🙂

Family Time All the Time

I’ve been quite the busy blogger! Our family trip to Gettysburg for Thanksgiving has been full of quality time with our aunts, uncles, cousins and grandmothers. Needless to say, this lil’ blog has been severely neglected.

In the time I haven’t been blogging, I have been doing a lot of one thing: eating! Yow-za.

Thanksgiving Day Lunch

On Thanksgiving morning, I woke up and went for a 50 minute run with my dad. I loved the change in scenery and actually enjoyed the hills. It was a neat change from the flat roads of Florida. Plus, it was nice to have a running buddy to talk to (not that Sadie isn’t a joy as well).

After a quick shower and lunch, my sister, dad and I left my one grandma’s house to visit our other grandmother.

Me, My Dad and Leslie

When we were done visiting with our grandma, we came back to my other grandmother’s house where appetizers were waiting.

appetizers

I ate way too many appetizers and by the time Thanksgiving dinner was ready I was barely hungry. That didn’t stop me from fixin’ myself a plate though. It was Thanksgiving after all!

Turkey

After dinner, my cousin Andrew, my sister and I made sugar cookies using my grandma’s famous recipe.

Sugar Cookie Dough

The Bakers

Cooked Cookie

These cookies are unreal. The smell, taste, texture… everything is perfect! Yummy!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. My stomach hurt from laughing so much at dinner. I went to bed with a full and happy belly!

Today

Today was another busy day full o’ family fun!

Cousins

Three cars full of relatives gathered at my grandma’s house! I am the oldest of all the cousins and felt even older when I couldn’t help but think about how much my cousins have grown! I’m gettin’ old, my friends.

The Adults

After our relatives from Maryland left, my mom, aunt, sister and cousin Andrew headed to Boyd’s Bears, a huge barn full of stuffed teddy bears. It was ginormous!

En Route to Boyd's Bears

Boyd's Bears

Me, My Mom and Bubba the Bear

The outside was decked out with Christmas decor, but that was nothing compared to the interior.

Cozy Fireplace

Inside

We had the best time looking at all the bears and huggin’ on the stuffed animals.

I Loved the Pigs!

The piggies were so cute! I bought a lil’ pig pig. 🙂

Andrew the Bear

We also couldn’t stop laughing when we saw a bull with quite the anatomically correct appendage.

Bull... Pretty sure it's a boy, no?

I loved this store and could have spent hours looking at everything. There were three floors of bears and toys. What a dream!

When we got home we played several rounds of games, including Catch Phrase (my favorite), and made a big batch of brownies with M & M’s and peanut butter chips stirred in. Now we’re ordering subs and pizza for a cozy night of more family fun.

We’re heading back to Florida tomorrow. I’m excited to see Ryan and my little Sadie girl! 🙂 I miss my lil’ Orlando fam!