BLOGWORLD, HOW I'VE MISSED YOU...

My family and I have just moved across town. It's been so crazy I don't think I've fully recovered. I've been without the internet for about 2 weeks. I thought the withdrawal from the virtual world would make me panic.

Reason #1:
I'm an E-MAIL FREAK. If you kept count of the times I checked my e-mail on a daily basis, you'd probably tell me to just go get a Blackberry. Heck, I don't even use my cellphone as much as I check my e-mail. That's how bad it is.

Reason #2:
I'm a FOODIE. Have we not established that when I started this blog? I probably check food blogs as much as I check my e-mail. (Hmm..my symptoms remind me of ADD but I promise you my doctor tells me that I'm "normal.") I really cannot live without my daily dose of food blogs, just like those who need to read their morning paper.

I must sound like a hopeless cause right now but having gone through two weeks without internet, you guys would be proud to find that I DID survive. I actually didn't mind because I was given something better in return.

Gift #1

Work, an internship, school, spending time with the boyfriend has really left me little time with my FAMILY. However, these two weeks gave me ample time to talk to my mom, help clean up the house, and really allow the whole family to have more engagement with each other since our new house is only one rather than two stories.

Gift #2:

I BAKED.

Chunky Hunky Chocolate Cookies


Recipe:
2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
170g butter
1 C light brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C chocolate pieces

Snickers Sugar Cookies


Recipe:
2 3/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 C softened butter
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp rum
4 mini Snickers chopped

Gift #3:

NEWMAN'S OWN ORGANICS (NOO) came in the mail for me. I had seen their products on other people's blogs and had asked to try them. I had expected just a couple of items but the package was almost too heavy to lift! Thanks Sally for organizing the whole thing and thank you Newman's Own Organics for their generosity!
I couldn't contain my excitement and ripped open the NOO Soy Crisps Barbecue Flavor. I let my family be the genie pigs. I'm happy to report that they loved it as much as I did!



The crisps were a cross between the airy crunch of popcorn but the texture of crackers. The more you chew, the more the BBQ flavor comes out.

My sister couldn't hide how she feels about 'em crisps. She kept saying, "Okay, just one more..." (She really meant 1/2 a bag more).

The best thing about these babies is that the ingredients are simple. I admire Sally's honesty when she had told me that these snacks may not be the best "health foods" but they at least contain ingredients that I can pronounce.


She's right. With all the hype about living a healthy lifestyle, we tend to forget that organic staples are not all healthy for us and that we still need to eat in moderation.

Well, I'll leave it here for now but no worries, there will be a lot more of these NOO reviews to come :). Meanwhile, I'm jumping on the holiday season bandwagon by spreading my NOO love to my friends and co-workers.