No use crying over burnt toast

I can create all kinds of recipes, or attempt anything at least. . . but I can't manage to keep a piece of toast from burning. . .

No one's perfect =)

Leaving Florida

We had a short sleep in today, but I always get paranoid about not checking out in time, so I was up and showering before the boys, getting ready so I wouldn't be the last one everyone is waiting on. I hate that. We got all packed and ready to go, checked drawers, under beds etc. I have a bad memory of my dad leaving my new Pocahontas towel under a pillow in a hotel, so I'm anal about checking every place for belongings.

We hit the breakfast buffet for the last time. I got my favorite pancake creation again, and was going to splurge on a sprinkle donut, but they were all gone. The place was really busy - must be because it was a Friday. After we had eaten all we could, we called the valet for the last time to bring the car around. It had been really nice not to walk from self parking. $23 might seem like highway robbery, but it was just too convenient to pass up. Plus, the more places charge for valet, the less we tip. They're only hurting themselves (sorry we're not made of money, although I wish I was. How awesome would that be?). 


I was definitely going to miss the palm trees. I like palm trees. Unfortunately they usually come with humid climates where a 3pm rain shower (aka. giant thunderstorm) is business as usual. I was going to miss day after day of fun activities, no work, no stress. (I actually didn't realize how much I WOULD miss it until I walked into work Monday morning and it was decidedly less magical than walking into the Magic Kingdom the previous Monday). I would definitely miss the delicious breakfast cooked for me in the mornings, the beds made when we came in from a long day at the parks. I would not miss the uncomfortable pillows though. They kinda hurt my neck.  


We piled into the car and hit the road around 945a central time. We would gain an hour coming back, but it doesn't make a difference when it's 2am and you're still driving. We stopped in Pensacola for food at Five Guys, but this area of town wasn't as nice as last time. . . and then we set off again!

Welcome to Alabama

I always get sad when my state line pics come out blurry. . . like this one.

Dang it, Louisiana! I started driving part way through Louisiana all the way to Houston, where we dropped off mini S. We decided to sleep for a few hours and then get back on the road for home! We got back to Dallas around mid day and took a much needed nap! I was actually a bit sad to be home - there's nothing magical about work and everyday life, but that's what makes vacation special!

Universal, Day Two

Our last day in Orlando =( This is no surprise I'm sure, but we hit the hotel breakfast buffet before heading back to Universal. I had a dream about M'n'M pancakes the night before, so I had the lady whip some up! They were every bit as good as in dreamland.

Ready for day four

More hotel lobby pictures, because it's pretty. I miss this hotel. 

We ate our $22 worth of the breakfast buffet, and left for Universal again. We were earlier this time, which was good, and also I think the Studios side is slightly less popular than the Islands of Adventure, so the lines were shorter. We used the same tickets as yesterday, along with our express passes, so at least there was no waiting in line before even walking in the entrance!

I love the shadow effect of "Florida" on this photo!

Pretty empty first thing in the morning!

The first thing we did was Shrek 4D, which was pretty good. It was a 3D movie, with moving seats, cold air and water. Why do they like spraying people with water at these places? I think we got wet everyday! After Shrek we went to Twister, which said it would be like experiencing a tornado. Honestly, this wasn't as good as I thought it would be. We were pretty disappointed. I thought they were going to re-enact what it would be like to be in an F5 tornado, but really there was just some wind howling, mini explosions, and storm sound effects. 


Next up was Return of the Mummy. Even with the express pass the wait for this ride was a little long. . . but totally worth it. We all loved it! The picture after the ride was hilarious - all of us had these goofy looks on our faces! I wish I had bought all of these ride photos. 

I saw this and had de-ja vu. Wasn't I just here in June?

I didn't get any pictures of the next ride, but we went to "Disaster!", where they make a film starring audience participants. It was pretty hilarious when the guy in charge picked S to participate!! His role was to sit in a bathtub and look horrified! When it came time for him to film his scene, he was in that tub just smiling! It was so funny. The guy in charge said "look horrified, look horrified!" and S just kept on smiling. Then the guy said "Imagine Arnold Schwarzenegger is your father!" and S wrinkled up his nose into the funniest face. Not a horrified face, but it was still funny. After everyone was done filming their scenes, we all boarded the subway to experience the earthquake, have 65,000 gallons of water rush at us and watch the scenes that had been filmed and edited. I wanted to buy it so we could remember S's big movie moment, but we decided against it. 


Next up was Jaws, a boat ride with a shark attack! That fake shark coming up out of the water was huge and scared the hell out of me!

After escaping the killer great white shark, we hopped on the Men In Black ride, which we basically walked straight into - no line at all! It was a fun ride because as you go along you have to shoot the aliens. I totally kicked the boys butts with almost double their scores! 

The last ride of the day was the Simpsons. 

This was another ride where the car is actually stationary, just moves around in place, but you're watching a movie/3D movie to make it feel like you're actually on a rollercoaster.

Apparently the Hard Rock at Universal is the largest one. We thought about eating here, but weren't really that hungry when we left around 130p. We got everything done really fast, which was great! We had the whole afternoon to just relax, take a nap and figure out what to do our last night in Orlando.

We ended up taking a nap (or I did) and then watched Bridesmaids on the room PPV, which I really didn't like that much and the boys thought it was boring. Maybe it's just not our sense of humor. S wanted to go see Fright night, which opened with a 9pm showing, so off we went! As we were leaving the hotel, the heavens opened and it just POURED. We tried to find a close parking spot, but we were still three rows away. We counted to three, got out and ran. I ran to the back door of the theater because I was just already soaked and needed a break and to plan our way around to the front. Just then, the back door opened! I breathed a huge sigh of relief that we wouldn't have to run through more rain, and we all went inside and headed for the bathroom to dry off. Paper towels don't do much for 14 inches of wet hair and they didn't have a blow dryer I could stick my head under, only one of the new Dyson super fast dry ones. since I can't stick my head in that, I had to make do with the paper towels, and tried to soak up some of the water from my jeans and cardigan. It didn't help much, so I was extra cold in the theater.

We picked up 3D glasses and food from the front and went to find seats. The movie was actually pretty good, not really that scary at all. Maybe I'm immune at this point. I thought the transformations from human to vampire were really good, none of this Twilight sparkly stuff. Colin Farrell was really creepy - an excellent vampire. And the 3D was really good! Usually 3D makes me nauseous or it's bad, but Fright Night was great!


When we left the movie, the rain had stopped and it was the coolest temperature it had been all week. We headed back to the hotel for the last time, packed and went to sleep. We had a long and much less exciting drive back home in the morning.

Pet Peeve or OCD?

I'm not someone with OCD, or I don't think I am. I'm not anal about a lot of things. I'm not exactly very good at tidying up after myself, and if I didn't live with S my belongings would be more scattered around the apartment than in their proper place. But there is one thing that bothers me. . . if people leave time on the microwave clock. 

If the microwave clock, or actually any electronic clock, oven etc, does not show the actual time of day, but say :11 or :45 because someone didn't cook their food for the whole time they entered, I have to clear it. I can't leave it. It bothers me. I don't understand why other people leave it that way? Is this a pet peeve, or more OCD? Or just weird?

Now that I think about it, maybe I'm just obsessive about time. My iPhone app workout countdown has to sync with the treadmill. I always have to be on time, if not early. I like all electronic clocks to be synced. Maybe it is an OCD tendency. . .

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

I love Disney, but I might even love Harry Potter even more. I was super excited when I heard they were building this, and even more excited when we decided to visit! We skipped breakfast this morning - no one seemed to be hungry, so we just headed straight to Universal!
After running through the Dr. Seuss themed part of the park. . . 

And the lost continent. . .

We finally arrived!

Welcome to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! YAY!

The Hogwarts Express had just pulled in ;-)

So pretty and picturesque with glistening snow and buildings full of charm.

We walked past a Butterbeer stand, which I really wanted to try but the line was so long!

Hogwarts!!

Snowman professor and Hedwig (maybe?)

I found this wanted poster by the Three Broomsticks and didn't realize until I got home that you could see my reflection in the poster! Guess Azkaban wants me back.

The Three Broomsticks. S said it smelt funny, so we didn't eat here. 

The line for Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey was 90 minutes, so we decided to go visit other attractions. We headed back to the Lost Continent to Posieons Fury, which was a walk through attraction, not a ride, but still pretty cool. 

After the temple tour, we went to watch a live stunt show where Sinbad tries to rescue a princess and defeat the evil witch. It was pretty cool!

The whole set

Sinbad dodging a hit

Princess can hold her own

The evil witch, if you couldn't tell

We also stopped to see a magic show outside the stunt show, and the guy was really good! He made things float and disappear and it was all really cool!


After the stunt show we headed to Jurassic Park. 

We went on the Jurassic Park River Adventure and had the honor of sitting in the front, which basically means you get drenched from head to toe. I'm glad my camera case has a waterproof cover! The picture of this ride was hilarious, I was screaming with my mouth wide open, Suleman has his head bent and is holding onto his hat and mini S looked hilarious. We got onto this ride feeling a little beat down by the heat, but everyone was in great spirits after we got off! I just thought the whole thing was hilarious - I had forgotten about that ridiculously steep drop.

He's back!

After we escaped Jurassic Park the sky turned dark and we heard some thunder, so we headed to the nearest cafe in comic book world. We beat the crowd and were able to get food and find a table pretty quickly. It was about this time I was texting my brother who told me that no matter how long the Harry Potter line was, we needed to wait because it was that awesome. 25.43 times more awesome than Spiderman to be exact. So, we figured out a new plan and set off to execute!


We headed straight for the Spiderman ride after the food. The regular line was a 100 minute wait!! I'm so glad we had the fast passes. The wait was maybe 20 mins tops. This ride is awesome. It was a 3D ride with fire and wind and water. We all agreed it was awesome, which made me wonder how much better could the Harry Potter ride be?!


We decided to bite the bullet and go on our first upside down roller coaster, the Incredible Hulk. 

We were shot out of this tunnel at like warp speed and commenced loop de loops

This was a lot of fun. I'm glad we decided to ride it, although I felt a tad light headed! We left the park at this point to go to the AMC theater at City Walk and watch the last Harry Potter movie! Mini S hadn't seen it yet and S wanted to see it again. . . and really we were waiting for the crowds to leave so we could go back to Harry Potter World!

S joined Gryffindor. Lookin' good!

Mmm, chocolate frogs!

We rushed back through Seuss world and got in line for the Forbidden Journey! The wait was only 30 mins this time, which we decided was do-able. You get to walk through the greenhouse where the students have Herbology, through the halls of Hogwarts, through Dumbledore's office and finally end up in the Great Hall where you get on the ride. They are four seats per "car" and your feet dangle which makes you feel like you're flying (which is the point). The ride is really awesome and the detail is great! It is 100% worth the wait. 

After the Harry ride, we left and headed back to the hotel, exhausted once again. Universal was really fun. I loved Harry Potter world. I never got the wand I wanted though, which just means I have to go back! S liked Universal better than Disney, I guess because it IS more geared toward adults. I'm a giant kid at heart, so I love everything!

Sunday, possible the saddest day of the week?

At least to me. . . I really don't like starting the work week. Maybe Monday is the saddest day of the week?

• We spent the day watching a Bridezillas marathon on WE. These chicks are crazy. I hope I never act like this!
• I made slow cooked meatballs, which turned out pretty yummy! Post coming soon.
• I also made some chocolate and pb crescent rolls, and those are definitely delicious!
• Now the last thing on my "to cook/bake" list is the Sopapilla cheesecake that I found on Pinterest. Planning for this weekend so A*D and Cap B can help me eat it!
• I'm majorly procrastinating on nursing school apps. 
• Mercy with T and her cousin last night was delicious. We killed two bottles of wine and three delicious appetizers. Oh and dessert =)
• This week needs to go by fast. I love four day weekends!
• I'm glad September is finally here. I'm hoping it means colder weather (wishful thinking), and it's football season and I have plans almost every weekend =)

Here's hoping to a relaxed, chill, drama free work week that goes by fast. Bring on the fun!

Mini Lasagnas

This recipe is the most delicious thing I've eaten all week. It is definitely a top contender for best dish I've ever made. They turned out so well! This is a Hungry Girl Recipe adapted by Can You Stay For Dinner, and that's the recipe I followed.
Here's what you need for 12 mini lasagnas:

12oz ground turkey
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup chopped onion (I omitted)
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I omitted)
14.5oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp dried oregano, divided
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 cups part skim ricotta cheese
24 small square wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large skillet to medium heat and add the turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt and pepper (I omitted the onion and mushroom with the hopes that S would eat it, and he did!). Saute until turkey is cooked through then add in the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add in the tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat.


Combine the ricotta, remaining oregano, basil and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl and stir. Set aside.

Spray the muffin pan with non stick cooking spray and place one wonton wrapper in each cup. Divide the ricotta mixture in half and divide that between the 12 muffin cups.

Divide the tomato-meat mixture in half, and fill each of the cheese filled cups and top with some mozzarella.

Gently press another wonton wrapper on top.

It's ok if some sauce spurts out! Make it work!

Top with remaining ricotta mixture. . .

Then the remaining meat mixture. . .

And last, top with the remaining mozzarella!

Bake for 10 mins, which is GREAT because you don't have to wait forever to taste your yummy concoction!


Fresh out of the oven. . .

You should probably wait for the lasagnas to cool. . .

But we couldn't!

These were so, so delicious! Creamy cheese, crunchy wontons, perfectly seasoned and tomato-y turkey! Om, nom nom!

I promise you will NOT be disappointed in these! S thought they were yummy and ate a total of 7! I love finding new recipes that we both love. I hope to make these again very soon!