Getting AM~Erica Inspired to Move

So anyway...

I have a lot of friends who go out and get fit...often. Good for them! It's not for me.

Don't get me wrong...back in my dancing days, I would sweat a lot. I worked hard & I was in killer shape! But seriously...that was "back in the day." I've talked about my dancing now, HERE, which involves me doing it as a ministry. It doesn't happen very often...and I got kinda lazy.

I was hoping to not have to sweat to get in shape. I eat everything in moderation...and I try to make most of it good for me to eat. I use the stairs in our house several times in the mornings & sometimes thru the afternoon/evening. And since we are coffee snobs (reminder HERE), I can use our hand-held electric coffee grinder much like a Shake Weight in the mornings. I don't brag too often on myself (cuz I really am humble & I find it weird), but my arms are pretty good just from shaking my grinder every morning for about 15 seconds.

I loved doing yoga "back in the day." I do miss it. But I will admit that I hardly have a long enough quiet time to get some yoga in. And I'm not big on that sweating stuff.

However...I found a way to work out daily without sweating. Remember? (New Year's workout plan HERE)

You know what? It's been working for me just fine. JUST FINE, I tell ya!!

My hubby has usually been the one to work out & work at staying fit. He'd always ask me to join in & I would graciously decline. And right now he's kicked up his workouts & training to get ready for the Tough Mudder that he was challenged to do. For you Tough Mudder peeps...you be crazy! That's what I got to say to you. Oh...and more power to ya. Sounds like you need it!
If you don't know what the Tough Mudder is...well...it's like the Warrior Dash on crack. Seriously. It's 12 miles of 25 ridiculous obstacles. *shudders*

I've gotten out & walked before. But I didn't stick with it. Well, illness stepped in each time & then I found it hard to start up again. But faking being in shape certainly hasn't done me much good.

The last few weeks, I have been keeping up with so many status updates of several of you working on getting into shape. I have been in awe of you. Especially when you all would talk about how hard it was, but still stuck with it.


I'm going to switch gears for a slight moment...
Just a couple of days ago, I saw an article about how SELF magazine did tutu shaming of a marathon runner who wore a Super Woman costume to give her motivation to run since she was on chemo for a brain tumor. On top of that...she sells running tutus as a charity to motivate girls to run. D'oh! The magazine said it was trying to be funny...but they epically failed at that. They have since been apologizing for being so insensitive!
But I did notice the tutu idea really was adorable!

OK, back to what I was talking about before...*ahem*
Yesterday, there were several posts on Facebook from & about friends who took part in a couple of races. There were pics from the Run or Dye 5K, and from the Diva Dash...
Now then...there have posts from others who do their runs that I see, and I can scroll thru the pics & admire them. But there was something about Beqi, Jessica, Louise & Aimee that really caught my attention. I have known these lovely ladies for many years & under different circumstances. None of them have been your "avid runner". Yet...I saw them covered in colors &/or wearing tutus. They were holding medals & looking like they had a great time. The sense of accomplishment on their faces really caught my attention...

I've always been taken by the color runs & the Glow Run. I've planned many-a-time to take part in the Race for the Cure. But I guess I didn't have the motivation like I thought I did. Until yesterday.

On Saturday, March 29th, 2014...I found inspiration! Not only in these fabulous ladies, but in tutus, costumes, medals...colors & glows!

That's right. I found inspiration in tutus, in color, necklaces (as Kelly Ripa calls them) and in the fun. Even if it involves a lot of sweating & running to get to this point! And I found inspiration in friends who were driven to enjoy getting fit!

People...I haven't actually run in...uh...I don't know how long. Well...I tried once out of low-self esteem spite. That was NOT good. At all! And really was only 1 time.

But, after getting inspired & researching...and getting a Pinterest board started (check it out HERE), I put on some running shoes & sunscreen. I threw on leggings (for working out...not pants), and my Derrick Thomas-inspired t-shirt I got about a year ago. And I took in the 70+ degree weather!

I told my hubby, while he was working out, that I was heading out to run. He looked at me, speechless. I assured him I wasn't going far. There's not a chance that I could. The joke has always been that I wouldn't make it to the end of the driveway. I've even said that. But he helped me semi-map out a short course to try. Maybe about a mile. And I started out the door...

...but not before telling my kiddos that I was heading out on a run. Teen Girl kindly offered to get 911 on the phone as a pre-emptive measure. Teen Boy hoped I would just jog around the driveway so the ambulance could just find me there.
My children are charming...

However, I was bound to prove them wrong! Tutus & medals are at stake, yo! So I took off...

And it was oh-so-obvious I had not run in oh-so-long!

So, today, March 30, 2014...I began running because I have been inspired!

I was so grateful that my hubby gave me a plan that allowed me to bail early. I didn't make it a mile. But you know what? I was still upright AND broke a sweat!

Post mini-run...yeah, I'm still standing!

I'm going to need ibuprofen tonight. I'm still dealing with jelly-legs. But I have a sense of accomplishment. A sense of being inspired!

Now I hope I can keep it up...

Not too sure I will be ready for the Glow Run in June...but I have a goal to do the KC Race for the Cure in August. It would be a big deal if I could do it. That's my big goal right now...

And then, someday...because I am a Disney Princess (reminders HERE), I now have it on my bucket list to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Disney? Costumes encouraged? Princess medal? Yeah...that would be awesome! Princesses can totally run, too!

Whatever it takes to get someone off the couch...amm-i-rite?

Tutus: they're not just for dancing anymore...

I hope to give periodic updates on my blog. Hoping to use it as some additional accountability.

Believe it or not...I'm nearly looking forward to going back out there...maybe I'll get that mile in.

So...stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica's March Madness

So anyway...

It's still March. There's been a lot happening in March. It's Madness.

There is so much celebrating that happens in March (reminder HERE) that I make sure to take part in...and kind of force the family to do, too. And there is a crazy basketball thing happening, too.

I realize the college basketball tournament is referred to as "March Madness" due to the fact that any team can beat another team on any given day. This causes great upsets in the tournament...as well as people's brackets they fill out in hopes of winning money for guessing the most wins all the way down to the championship game. (By the way...I won an office bracket challenge one year. True story.)

The tournament this year has had folks being completely upset over their brackets as so many upper seeds fell out within the first round or two. Coming up on the Sweet 16, there's not many in this grouping that folks actually predicted.

However...as this is considered part of the "madness"...this is nothing compared to what my March has looked like.

On top of the celebrating, we have had a family birthday, the start up of sports practices, playwright's roundtable (find out about that HERE), speech & debate tournaments, church stuff, school stuff, 3rd grade insanity of a One-Book-One-School wrap up event & wax museum to prepare for...on top of working all of this stuff around the crazy winter that just won't go away!

Oh...did I mention that we are trying to prepare Teen Girl for prom, too? Just the dress decision has been maddening enough. And they have an early prom! This would be on top of getting her thru her last few weeks...of...high...school...*sigh*

Plus hubby & I have gotten a little more social in our going out. Who do we think we are??

And I do want to mention that we got to see Tim Hawkins (our favorite comic right now) live, along with a new found (to us) funny guy, John Crist. I laughed so hard for nearly 2-hours straight. I think I got a serious workout that night!

John Crist & Tim Hawkins teaming up for musical tweets

*BREATHE*

Did I mention that we are supposed to be going into spring break right now, but we've lost a day of it because of the amount of snow days that need made up? Yeah...that, too.

Today is when I sent Lil Guy to school with a book presentation poster we worked on, pictures for the presentation, costume get together for the 3rd grade wax museum (which is such an awesome thing if you don't know what that is...blog post on it coming soon) along with the speech rehearsing, prep for the pre-spelling test...and then come home to probably eat something before Teen Girl has a singing rehearsal tonight for our church's Easter cantata coming up on Palm Sunday...

Oh yeah...I've also been preparing for a Good Friday reading & a dance for Easter. Plus, I'll be getting ready for my part in the Easter cantata, too.

Pa-sha! Basketball-schamasketball!

If there was a reality TV show based on our lives...it would be ratings magic with the madness going on right now!

I'm about ready to have a lovely tea party with the Mad Hatter & Alice. Only fitting the March Hare is part of it...

We're all mad here.

Hope you enjoyed my 300th post! See? More madness!!!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Missed Another One

So anyway...

Since I do a lot of celebrating (*insert sarcastic gasp of shock here*), it's hard to believe when I find more. And I have had friends share with me more holidays, too!

Even crazier...these extra couple of holidays fall in March...within the same week of the close-together holidays!

Wow! March really IS full of a ton of celebrating!!

How does one keep up?

My hubby & I are really loving watching The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon! And we are settling in to a bit of the routine he has. (which isn't a whole lot...but some) Fridays, Jimmy likes to catch up on some personal things: checking his inbox, returning some emails...and sending out weekly Thank You Notes! Much like this one he sent last week:

Holy Cannoli! There's...so...much...celebrating...
There's also Dr. Seuss' birthday, Pi Day, Ides of March...and even March Madness is getting ready to begin...

I did have a friend flag me down for March 16th:

It fell on a Sunday...and I did make it to church! I did get in some great worship time! I think I showed a lot of love & compassion that day. So...I was already striving to live up to John: 3:16...

Then I found out about another day coming up! Folks...let's get ready to recognize March 20th! Shall we? Grab your cardigan & get ready to be neighborly. It's supposed to be "Favorite Neighbor Day"! People...it is remembering the birthday of Fred Rogers. Yes...THE Mr. Rogers. So many of us grew up with him. I grew up watching him...and so did my older kids. So...let's do this & jump on board!
TOMORROW, PEOPLE! Mark it down!

Then? I realized today is actually St. Joseph's Day. So, I wore red & figured out I need to reach deep to get with my Italian roots, too. (Yes...I really do have Italian heritage in me...and actually have familial ties to Susan B. Anthony, from what I understand...) Pasta was not in the plan tonight for dinner. However, I did read about what some of the feast consists of. I have a really great Lazy Lou Lasagna that would be PERFECT if you made it meatless & grated some lemon zest on top! (recipe HERE) I'm also researching more. Cuz...it's what I do. I'm not putting the little info I have so far...I'm going to continue to research so I will be more prepared next year!

WHEW!! There really is a lot of celebrating! Just keep researching, celebrating life, have experiences in the celebrations, always keep learning...and just create memories... (find out about my celebrations HERE)

...especially in March...apparently...

In the meantime, get your cardigan ready!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

The Celebration AM~Erica is Recovering From

So anyway...

I. Am. Ex. Hausted.

I have quite a St. Paddy's Day hangover, and not for the reason you probably think! I had nothing hard to drink. I'm recovering for a much different reason: the Irish dinner preparation.

I'm serious.

This was another one of those days when I spent all day preparing for 1 big part...and then I crashed...hard.

Yesterday...my blog post (HERE ...which includes dancing Irishmen if you haven't read it yet) talked of what was ahead for the day, gave food for thought, and hoped to get you thinking about your St. Patrick's Day celebration(s)...if not yesterday, then maybe from here on out!

Now then...as I try to do...I want to try to get a fairly authentic meal to enjoy for whatever holiday we are partaking in. Of course, yesterday was no different.

We did have Lucky Charms for breakfast. Just a fun way to kick off the day...
And I did enjoy my morning coffee as several cups of Tingling Leprechaun:

Green coffee cup waiting to be filled with coffee, milk, Bailey's Irish Cream creamer
& Coffee-mate peppermint mocha creamer

Then I made some Irish Porridge for lunch. It was only OK. I know how I would adapt it for doing it again in the future.

However...as all of that was being done & put together...I had quite the dinner menu planned! The plan was this:

Irish Pub-Style Orange Glazed Beef with Carrots & Onion

Colcannon

Cole Slaw (sweet KFC copycat)

Mustard, Dill & Vinegar Slaw

Irish Soda Bread

Apple Irish Cream Cake

Irish Cream Erin's Lush Pie

Irish Oatmeal Cookies

As I got the cooking & preparing going, a dessert & side dish had to be scrapped due to an "incident" that took time away from making the other. We had to do without the oatmeal cookies & the soda bread. I was SO disappointed!! I was trying the oatmeal cookies to get them baked & out of the way...but something in the recipe just wasn't right. Not sure what it was. And I followed it to the tee! Even though the batter was good & thick, something didn't adhere just right...and...there were cookies melting all over the cookie sheet & dripping to the bottom of the oven. GRRRR!!!

I had to stop all cooking/baking operations to turn off the oven, wait for it to cool, and then clean it the best I could so I could start the cooking/baking back up. We had some family coming over, so we were on a schedule to get this food going! Since the beef was to take a VERY long time in the oven, something had to be scrapped. Sadly...it was the soda bread. And I was SO looking forward to finally making it again this year! Bummer.

However, through an exhausting timing process, and a little help from Teen Girl & Hubby, the menu went more like this:

Irish Pub-Style Orange Glazed Beef with Carrots & Onion

Colcannon

Cole Slaw (sweet KFC copycat)

Mustard, Dill & Vinegar Slaw

Apple Irish Cream Cake

Irish Cream Erin's Lush Pie

Trust me...there was still plenty of food for 8 of us!

In my efforts to stay as authentic as possible, it is difficult to do much of the authentic Irish fare in our house. See, we have a non-pork eater. It goes back to a slight traumatic experience caused by a science teacher. That's a story for another time. However, it does effect how we approach dinners much of the time. For the most part, meat is usually of pork or lamb in Ireland. Beef is a rare commodity in the Emerald Isle... We still went the direction of beef this time. We will get to eat pork again, eventually. There are plenty of Irish pork recipes out there. But I was so glad I came across this  beef one! And it is NOT corned beef. Just to keep that out there...

I got to use my grandmother's roasting pan during the 3 & a half hours worth of making this dish. But it was WORTH IT!! Hubby sliced it up for me. I'm a weenie when it comes to electric knives. After it getting it cooked, sliced & arranged...it was so, so tasty! And there was not even enough meat to consider leftovers...so the dog got celebrate St. Paddy's Day, too!

Then there was the slaws. These should have been done up even earlier (like, maybe, the day before)...but that's how it goes.

The slaw in the green bowl is a sweet cole slaw. It's actually a KFC copycat recipe that we have used several times. I have handed the reins of this recipe over to Teen Girl, and she is usually the one to make it now. She does a great job!

In the casserole pottery dish (this dish has a family story attached to it...which is a story for another time) is a more authentic-like mustard, dill & vinegar slaw. It is not sweet, but instead, has a good bite to it. So, there were cabbage slaws to appease the whole crowd!

Then, we had to have potatoes! No good Irish meal is complete without potatoes. Amm-i-rite? And I finally got around to making colcannon!

Due to timing of things, I boiled the potatoes & then put the boiled potatoes pieces and the rest of the ingredients into the lazy cooker to finish the deed. The cabbage I used was from a slaw mix, so there was some carrot in there, too. I also added some kale. This was a HIT! So good. I was so happy with how it turned out!

Of course we needed dessert! I wanted to have a little variety. So, since the cookies didn't work out, I made my apple Irish cream cake along with an adapted & speedy-quick version of Erin's Lush.

The cake was put in the oven right after I pulled the beef out of it. Since our family members were already here, so it baked while we were eating. And then we enjoyed the cake while it was still very warm. It's a perfect way to enjoy a cake like this!

On the contrary, I served a cold pie. It's also known as Pistachio Pudding Dessert, but my mom always called it Erin's Lush & made it for St. Patrick's Day. There would be NO time for me to make the crust for this dessert, so I cheated by getting a pre-made graham pie crust. I then made the pistachio pudding with Irish cream creamer & used crushed pistachios & sliced almonds. It turned out so well, too!

Plated meal...I already devoured the mustard, dill & vinegar slaw
before thinking to take a pic of everything plated

Mmmmm...cake AND pie for dessert!

Most of the big kids (the ones 21 & over) also enjoyed some ale.

I did not partake in this since I am not a beer drinker. But the packing is really awesome...

Now then...part of St. Paddy's Day is about how you dress! Typically, the only real "rule" is that you need to have something green on or get pinched. Not sure how much the pinching actually happens except thru juvenile behavior (take that as you will). But there tends to be a process into what people wear. Here's what we did:

The boys all had green & blue on. Hubby did have orange under his green pullover, too!
Teen Boy is in a green t-shirt...hard to see in this pic.
Lil Guy is sporting neon green...his shoes (not shown, of course) are the same color.

Here I am at the end of the evening. See how tired I look?
I was exhausted!
But I still wore my Irish-like green & blue wrap,
a blue waffle top with butterfly print,
a headscarf I inherited from my grandmother with green & orange Irish-like pattern,
gray tights, deep red mod Mary Jane shoes, and a blue & green tartan wool mini skirt

The up-close tartan print on the skirt

On top of all of this, I discovered a fantastic Irish Aran Crafts fisherman's sweater at a thrift store! Someone overlooked it when they set out their St. Patrick's display. All it took was some extra looking...and I found this for $6.98! When I did research into these sweaters later, I found them for anywhere from $75 to almost $300! Crazy!

Isn't it beautiful? But I was so sad that it wouldn't fit me, so I had Teen Girl wear it.

She wore it SO well! She has a great faded olive button-up shirt to wear under the sweater, a skirt she made from one of hubby's old button-up olive shirts (which she won 2nd place for recycled styling for it), leggings, Ropers & a very trendy braided hair style with a bow. So perfectly Irish! She worked it!

OK...along with the amazing sweater find, I also found these amazing decorations, plates & cups for a killer price, too!

The sign, each stone, a package of 16 cups, package of 18 wedding/anniversary plates, and a package of 24 napkins were all $1 each at the Dollar Tree! SCORE!!

I went to the Kansas City Irish Museum this weekend. Not a very big place...but full of really cool stuff! However, their gift area has these same signs for $4. Just putting that out there. However...they do have some pretty incredible pricing for several of their gifts! Just FYI if you get the chance to stop by there...

I have also been feeling a bit sentimental lately. There is a draw to butterflies that I have anyway...but I discovered that the Irish see butterflies as souls of loved ones passed. And they have a butterfly blessing for it, too:

Beautiful, right? I'm getting choked up thinking about it...

But it's also a day of fun toasts, too! You can find all kinds of other Irish blessings, prayers, toasts, proverbs, limericks & even curses. Pleasant, right? And if you search...you can find them in a lot of places. But I thought I'd come up with a couple of Irish toasts of my own:

This was all I could come up with in the little extra time I could sort of find thru the day...

Anyhoo...I got to hear some Irish music, I watched part of the KC St. Patrick's Day parade on TV (I did record it so I could sit & enjoy it), but after this day & several days full of celebrating...I'm WIPED!

My hubby even asked if I was going to try to rest today. Apparently I looked like I was "floating" last night. (refer to the pic of me further up...).

So...now some downtime. Cuz this girl NEEDS it!

I hope our family's celebrating has inspired you to try some authentic stuff in the future. It's all about researching & celebrating.

And, by the way, save the Rubens & the corned beef & cabbage for Oktoberfest.

OK...I'm sure there's more celebrating coming...but not today. I need a break now...

               zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica is Taking in the Craic

So anyway...

What's the craic, me lads & lasses?

Today is it! It's St. Patrick's Day!! A day when everyone's Irish makes an appearance...whether you have Irish ancestry or not...
Never fear...I do have ancestry...no need to be shocked by this tidbit.

So I am ready to do some celebrating, myself.

I cannot get to the KC St. Patrick's Day Parade again this year...but I will be watching it live on TV while I do some dinner prep!

Then, I will turn on some Irish music for the rest of the day...as I continue to do dinner prep!

Breakfast consists of Lucky Charms & some Irish oatmeal. The coffee has some non-alcoholic Irish cream coffee creamer (from Bailey's) in it (and maybe some mint & chocolate for a Tingling Leprechaun)...then a motly-authentic dinner for tonight! And some semi-authentic...but we will certainly enjoy some Irish fare!

If you remember, I talked about corned beef & cabbage HERE. Remember that? Well...there have been a few articles I came across, just in this past week, to bring up the same point:

Link: www.europeancuisines.com

Link: Yahoo! Food

Link: ** Huffington Post

** A couple of things about the Huffington Post link info:

1. I've been saying this about corned beef & cabbage for quite some time. Amm-i-rite?

2. The color of green is worn since the day commemorates the death of a saint...which is Catholic. The green side of the Irish flag is symbolic for the Catholics, orange for the Protestants, white for the division between the two sides. So...wear blue AND green...and you can throw in some orange, too...It's all about coming together & unity at this point. Amm-i-rite?

3. It is believed the snakes being referred to were the demons & pagan ways as he converted Ireland to Christianity. The snakes are a metaphor. That's why there were no actual snakes to chase out...Amm-i-rite?

4. One thing NOT pointed out is that St. Patrick was a male. Right? By referring to him as "St. Patty" means we are calling him the effeminate form of Patrick as St. Patricia. The masculine shortening of Patrick is "Paddy". Quit referring to him as woman. It's kinda weird, yo. So please say "Happy St. PaDDy's Day". Amm-i-rite?
(UPDATE: Just came across this very fitting & timely article HERE! Found AFTER I did this blog post!)

Just know what your celebrating & how you dress thru research...

OK...back to our regularly scheduled programing...

So, instead, I decided to try something that I'm hoping the family will enjoy. The Dublin Coddle, last year, was not enjoyed by everyone as much as hoped. So, I came across this recipe for Pub-Style Irish Orange-Glazed Beef (HERE)! Gonna be adding some cole slaw, colcannon & Irish Soda Bread! Gonna top it off with some desserts: Irish oatmeal cookies, Irish Cream Erin's Lush pie & some Apple Irish Cream Cake! There is some Irish ale that has been also purchased by my hubby. I'm not a beer-drinking girl...so I'll pass on it.

However...you know lookin' the part is all part of the craic in the day!

Not sure if we'll get to work in "The Quiet Man" or not. We shall see how the evening goes...considering it's a school night & stuffs! And we will have some peeps over to share our dinner with.

Plus...it would be entertaining to try to stay up to catch Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien & Stephen Colbert! They are Irish...and those would be some seriously fun shows tonight!

So now that you might be rethinking some of your celebrating plans...what's the plan for you now?

I still say some craic (which is Irish for fun & pronounced like "crack"...but with a great Irish accent) & shenanigans would still be in order! And maybe a wee bit of toasts & blessings should be shared...

But first...a lot of kitchen time today! Gotta get that Irish meal going!

Erin Go Braugh!

Stay tuned...you know the celebration will be shared...

God Bless, AM~Erica

AM~Erica Still Not Good at Math & Didn't Visit a Government Building

So anyway...

CELEBRATE! CELEBRATE! CELEBRATE!
I'm in the midst of celebrating like CRAZY!

Yesterday, March 14th, was National Pi Day. How did you celebrate?

OK...I'll admit that I'm still working on this one...

I am SO not good at math. It hurts my head. Just when I start filling my head with math...my brain takes a strange detour & it is all like, "Whoa! Check out these other numbers & figures I can come up with!" And then it comes across a land mind of a brain cell...and there is a semi-brain cell explosion...

Not. Pretty.

Anyhoo...when Pi Day rolls around, I just stick with what I know: piE!

So, we have pizza (we enjoyed Minsky's pizza), then finished off with oatmeal cream pies from Little Debbie.
I was trying really hard to find Moon Pies...but we didn't have time to make the stop at Bass Pro (yes, they carry Moon Pies) or to clean out a convenient store stash of them. I was  SO disappointed!! But we still enjoyed what we had.

Next year? I think I want a quiche for breakfast & a pot pie for lunch. I also want some of those Moon Pies!

With National Pi Day being on a Saturday next year...I so want to do a Pi Day Nerd Pizza Party! That would be amazing! Especially since I found this out:

Albert Einstein was born on March 14th! Is that so fitting? Just SO appropriate??
Plus, next year, Pi Day will be on 3/14/15! Oh...SO fitting! I am starting to get my wheels turning...

Oh...and my smarticle Teen Boy did use pi to figure out that our pizzas were 22 square inches, each. Yeah...I had a brain cell explode...

*****

Let's move on to today. Yep...another celebration! Of course...

Today is the Ides of March. Did you beware today? This day is when Julius Caesar met his demise. He was literally stabbed in the back (and several other places) on the steps of the Senate in ancient Roman times...

Well, I dressed as toga-like as possible without having to wear a sheet:

Americana: Roman Goddess of Celebration & Caffeine?
...or not...

And I went out in public several times looking like this...

We didn't do much thru the day, but I was so excited for this evening! Our slightly cheesy, yet semi-authentic food was on the menu!

We enjoyed some chicken Caesar salad (with Romaine lettuce)

with grilled cheese croutons & some lighter Caesar dressings

along with a sesame seed Italian bread loaf

three kinds of cubed cheese along with some mini antipastos

and some fruit

And it was all SO good!! A fest fit for Caesar, for sure!!

About the only thing that was missing was my bacon-wrapped figs. Why? I couldn't find any dried figs to use! So upset...still hope to find some to make soon!

Also ran out of time to make sour grapes & fig newton brownies. Bummer!

Then...what else could we possibly do for the Ides of March?
How about NOT go to a government building with friends! Passing up any government building was high on our list...but there had to be more!

So...here's where we went instead:

That's right! Orange Julius at the mall! YUM!!

So we had Orange Julius & Caesar Salad to celebrate remember the Ides of March! *SNORT*

So...hitting a Roman-goddess-like pose was completely called for!

Yep...I went there... (and it's OK...I realize how big of a goober I am)

OK...good celebrating these last couple of days...and sparking future celebrating, too!

Let's consider this diem totally carped!! Shall we?

Stay tuned...(St. Paddy's is comin')

God Bless, AM~Erica