Birthday Bowling.

This weekend we celebrated our good friend John's birthday. There was some debate as to how we were going to celebrate. A trip to his cottage was suggested as was a trip to the bowling alley. Seeing as none of us are getting any younger, we opted to re-live our high school days by partying with cheap beer and good ole fashion fun at the bowling alley.

But it wasn't your average bowling, at least by my American standards. No. This was much more exciting -- candlepin bowling. There was no option here. Candlepin bowling is the only type of bowling in town. Most of them have never even been 'big ball' bowling. Plus, it's glo bowling. Or, as I know it, cosmic bowling.





There was disco ball, black lights and really awesome dance music. Perfect for us 30 something year olds (except me, I'm still 29 for another week and a half and don't you forget it!).





Apparently candlepin bowling is most common in Eastern Canada and New England. I don't know what they've got against normal bowling. Look at the pins. Can you see the funny shape? The pins are not big at the bottom. There is no top, there is no bottom.





The balls are small too. It's one size fits all. And get this...there are no holes for your fingers.

It is the weirdest sensation ever. Since the ball is only about 3 pounds and about 4 inches across it is really easy to just heave it down the alley with no aim or direction. When you're used to achy forearms from a big 10 pounds bowling ball this smaller ball isn't easy to get used to.





Also, for each turn you get to roll three times. Not two, not four. Three. And the pins aren't cleared in between rolls like in normal bowling.





When you're turn is over you're also responsible for hitting the little button to reset the balls. For the life of me I couldn't remember to hit that stupid button. I'd get halfway back to my seat and someone would yell "Button!" 







And we had to keep track of how many pins were knocked over. Since we were at a super classy place, they hooked us up with our own score sheets. They even threw in a pencil with an eraser. First class service, if you ask me.





That meant that Tyler and Jackson spent their evening keeping score, which was serious business. It's hard to count that high when drinking cheap beer from the karaoke bar that was attached to the bowling alley.





Again, this super classy place wasn't equipped with scoring computers but it did used to have the coolest thing I have ever laid eyes on...an overhead projector. In between the two white score sheets is glass where the transparent score sheet used to be placed. Then the projector could be turned on and the scores would be shown on the ceiling. Pretty nifty, eh? It wasn't working for us but I'm pretty sure that is only because they didn't want us embarrassing everyone else with our amazing skills.





Even though this new way of bowling seems a little ridiculous it is still serious stuff. They have leagues and everything.





I've heard that some people even own their own mini bowling balls. I now have a new goal in life.

But not to worry, we kept it light and fun. Adam even managed to throw some granny shots.





It definitely helped his score. And made him look super sexy.





Did we shut the place down? Yes. Did they have to turn the lights on to make us leave? Correct. But not before I snapped an inappropriate, yet hilarious, shot of all the boys. Apparently they are still in middle school.





Here's a more appropriate shot. Please ignore the guy looking at the ball like its an alien. I don't really know where he came from (I kid, I kid. He's the cutest guy there!)

__________________________________________

Friday Workout: Cardio - 40 minutes and 45 minute walk with the pup, Weights - biceps, back, legs, abs


Saturday Workout: Cardio - 40 minutes, Weights - triceps, legs, abs (felt like I'd been hit by a bus. short, sweet and intense)


Sunday Workout: Cardio - 30 minutes, Weights - biceps, shoulders, abs (still feel like I've been hit by a bus. my butt is killing me from all the squats and lunges)

Tyler's Mom's Blueberry Cheesecake.

I have solved all your exploding cheesecake problems. Oh? Your cheesecakes don't explode in the oven? Well, mine do did once. 

Anyway, several months ago I was lucky enough to sink my teeth into a piece of Tyler's mom's blueberry cheesecake. I asked Tyler to get the recipe from her and email it to me. Five months later I had the recipe in hand. He's speedy, that Tyler. Three months after that I finally remembered to print it and make it. I couldn't help it, I'm still a little gun shy after the last disaster. 

The beauty of this recipe is there is no oven involved. That is my kind of dessert. 

You have to make this for Memorial Day, or Victoria Day, depending on your loyalties. It doesn't get any easier and and it certainly doesn't get any tastier. Do it! You can thank me later.

First, line up the 6 ingredients: cream cheese, butter, sugar, graham crumbs, cool whip, blueberries and vanilla. Oopps, that's 7 ingredients. My bad.

And don't preheat the oven because you don't need it. Have a glass of champagne to celebrate.

Start by making the crust. Dump 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Try not to buy the cheap brand because it's a weird orange color.

Then add 2 tablespoons of plain ole sugar.

Add 3/4 cup of melted butter to the bowl. And try not to splash it on your laptop while you take an out of focus picture.

Mix it up so it's all greasy and delicious looking.

Press the goodness into a 9x13 pan. Tyler's momma didn't specify to grease the pan. I'm a very literal person when it comes to directions so I didn't grease it. You'd think the butter would have been enough...I think I'll grease it next time just to be on the safe side.

To make the first part of the filling, place two blocks of cream cheese in your trust dusty mixer.

Then add 1 cup of sugar to sweeten things up.

Toss in a teaspoon of vanilla for good luck.

Add 1/3 cup of the cool whip....




And beat the tar out of the concouction. Beat it until it's nice and smooth. Just like Michael Jackson said (I'm talking about the 80's song...get your head out of the tabloids).





Next you're going to spread the filling over the graham crust. Try not to eat it all with your fingers.

Now take 3 cups of blueberries and put them in your awesome lime green colander. If you don't have a lime green colander then head on over to TJMaxx and get yourself one. It's totally worth the $8.

Rinse the blueberries and let them dry for a minute or two.

Dump them in a pink bowl. Don't you love random colored kitchen items?

Mix the blueberries with ALL the remaining Cool Whip. Again, refrain from eating it all with your fingers.

Spread the blueberries and Cool Whip over the cake.

Even it all out....

Add some crumbs for a little color and dig in. Since it is loaded with tons of blueberries you may consider this a healthy dessert and not feel the slightest bit guilty about eating the entire thing in one sitting. Besides, Tyler's dad claims it "goes bad" after one day anyway (wink, wink) Enjoy!


Copy and Pasteable:


Tyler's Mom's Blueberry Cheesecake (No Bake!)


Time: 20 minutes


Ingredients: 3 cups Blueberries, 1 cup & 2 T sugar, 2 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1 large container Cool Whip, 1 tsp vanilla, 16 oz (2 blocks) cream cheese, 3/4 melted butter

Crust:
Combine 2c. graham crumbs, 3/4c. melted butter and 2T sugar. Mix well. Spread and pat down across the bottom of a 9x13 pan. **Grease before, if you're so inclined

Filling:
In a mixer, beat 16 oz cream cheese, 1c. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/3c. Cool Whip until fluffy and smooth. Spread across crumb crust.

Topping:
Mix 3c. blueberries and remaining Cool Whip together. Spread evenly across the filling. Sprinkle graham crumbs over top for color.
Refrigerate until serving. Enjoy!

_________________________________________

Workout: none. I took a 3 hour nap instead and enjoyed every last second of it.

A Field Trip to Public Works.

Did you love taking field trips when you were a kid in school? It was such a nice break from the everyday routine. Plus it meant getting out of boring stuff like learning cursive and long division.

Now that I'm all grown up (and I use that term very loosely) and work at an elementary school I like field trips even more. Partly because its a break from the norm but also because there's the chance to see something cool.

So when the school bus pulled up to the Public Works building today I was more excited than the kids. Don't get me wrong, they were excited to see all the "machines", but as a Southerner I was really excited to see the machines up close. Florida doesn't have fun stuff like snow plows, snow blowers and salt trucks. This is exciting stuff.

The Public Works staff did a great job. There were six stations set up, each with a machine and the actual person who takes care of it.

First up was the big boy snow plow. This baby costs $200,000 buckaroos and is replaced every 5 years by the city. The driver has been plowing our town since 1988 but learned how to plow as a kid when his dad taught him out in the woods.

This is his snow blower. It takes him less than one minute to attach it. The blower attachment costs more than the tractor bringing the total to a whopping half million big ones. 

The plow truck driver's cousin is the brains behind this grader. It's like a super plow. I think it looks like a dinosaur. 

It has three plows on it...and no steering wheel. It is operated by multiple joysticks. I'm pretty sure I would crash within seconds.

We met the salt truck driver too. He salts the road while simultaneously plowing which is no easy task considering he has to control the rate of salt continuously depending on the temperature.

He said that the salt spinner can move fast enough to spray salt across the entire width of the road. Of course, cars don't really appreciate that kind of salt storm so he only does that late at night. 

Next we met the trash lady. She told the kids all about how the city's trash system works.

Households divide their trash into wet (green bags) and dry (blue bags). The dry trash is then sorted by hand to remove recyclables before sending the remainder to the landfill. The green is used for compost. After she explained this she handed out temporary tattoos and won the kid's hearts forever.

The water guys were a big hit also. They showed us the inside of a fire hydrant and how the firefighters open it. I'm pretty sure every kid walked away deciding to change their career path from astronaut to firefighter. 

But when we met the Urban Arborist everyone decided that this was the job for them. I mean, who doesn't want to play with chainsaws and climb trees all day?

And if chainsaws weren't exciting enough then the idea of riding in the bucket really sold them.

After an exciting day of seeing all the cool machines, I was driving home and stumbled across one more awesome sight...

Firefighter practice drills. Right at the bottom of the school's street, where all the buses pass by, the fire department was setting their practice building on fire. Four fire trucks were lined up, smoke was pouring out of the building and firefighters were everywhere. 

Now if all of that isn't more exciting than long division and cursive than I don't know what is.

_______________________________________

Workout: Cardio - 30 minutes, Weights - biceps, shoulders, legs, abs