White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

So I have this fat girl on the inside of me that rears her head and belly whenever I get to a dinner table or when I'm in the kitchen. From time to time she craves the most delectable things that just aren't right for a woman trying to lose the last bit of baby weight hanging on, and this weekend she showed UP! Her name is Bertha and this weekend her assistant was one of my new fav blogs Brown Eyed Baker (BYE)! This blog is going to be the DEATH of me because it's spilling over with YUMMY dishes that I have now committed myself to try.

A week or so ago I told hubby that I (read:Bertha) was craving White Chocolate Chip cookies and of course he told me to get in the kitchen and do what I do best but I didn't have a recipe. I went to my friend Google and up popped a link to BYE's recipe   and I went to work, first searching all over for the Macadamia nuts, a big THANK YOU to Hubby and Dad for getting them (4 blocks away :-()! I got myself all motivated, sat Chunks in his highchair and got started.

I didn't change a thing in the recipe and it came out perfectly! Hubby likes HUGE cookies so the batter only made 15 for us. My brother (the greedy one) had a headache and didn't try any but early Monday morning I went to get one and NOT ONE was left!!! ::GASP::: Oh, well a good excuse to make another batch ::giggle::.

Image

I didn't get to take a decent pic of the finished product but they were similar to these! They were OH SO YUMMY! Firm on the edge and moist in the middle. Hungry Brother said even the next morning there were soft, he decided to put his last 3!!! ::GASP:: in the microwave and they were even better. Thank Brown Eyed Baker...pop on over there if you're in the mood for something yummy!


My Amazon Pics for this project:

Drink To a Good Cause

Since I was a kid I have been involved with community service in some form or another. As a teen I served as President of the Central Brooklyn Leos Community Service Organization and District Vice President of the Eastern Division of the Leos Club in Brooklyn, NY, so a sister was BUSY on top of school affairs and church missions your girl has SERVED! lol but I've always felt like there was so much more that needs to be and can be done if just the right group of people got passionate about it. I've done several of the walks (AIDS, MS, Light the Night, March of Dimes, etc) and raised money but my hands still didn't feel like it got dirty enough especially now that I'm back in NYC. I'm currently working on a project that, to be honest, I've been dragging my feet about but that I'm very serious about that I hope I can reveal to you all very soon, but in the mean time I'm looking for anything I can do to give back. I need to raise Chunks in a mind frame that you're never ok if someone in your community is hurting for something. Soooooo, here's where today's post is coming from.

Mrs Holly Robinson Peete! Not only is she a great actress, a true example of what a wife should look like with an amazing husband to boot, but she's a devoted mother who is training her children to be selfless and to think about the world on a next door level and I love her for it. She started the HollyRod Foundation with her husband after her father was diagnosed with Parkinson and then found that her own son was autistic and she and her entire family have turned this same passion to helping families with Autism cope and hopefully find a solution. I'm not an Apprentice fan but when I learned that they team up with Snapple which is one of my fav brands I got interested. She's developed a flavor called the Compassionberry Tea and is competing against rocker Bret Michael's Trop-A-Rocka Tea.

The sales from Holly's Compassionberry Tea will go to support the HollyRod Foundation and Autism and Bret's will go to support children with diabetes, both GREAT causes. They are both on sale now and look so yummy.

http://www.celebritytweet.com/hollyrpeete/

Also, I just picked up the book she co-wrote with her beautiful daughter My Brother Charlie. A good read on autism in its simplest form, I'll review and post on here soon. I think it's amazing all that she's doing and the fact that her kids and right in the thick of things with her is an inspiration.

Go out a try the new flavors and vote for your favorite today! What are some of your favorite charities? Do you get your little one's involved too?

My hopes for the weekend...

As a mother who works night shift, I find it hard to not plan for the weekend, it's the only time that I get to be with my Chubbs all week but it is also the only time that I get to really sleep. I'm still getting used to the schedule so it's been a little rough, but when we all get together and do something fun in the city we really have a GREAT time! The weather is getting better after a little roller coaster here in the City, so we have to soak this up!

So this weekend, here's the plan (well, Saturday so far):

-Since Chubbs will be up once he hears me come in the door, we'll make our way down to the kitchen to make breakfast,

image courtesy of Brown Eyed Baker

-Laundry and the rest of the house chores, and other boring things,

image courtesy of Mother Bumper

-THEN WE'RE OFF TO ENJOY NYC!

image courtesy of Elani Bakery (Yes THEY'RE COOKIES!!!)

*I'm thinking Central Park. There's not much that a just learning to walk 8 month old can do and enjoy just yet but I think I day on the swings and laying out in THE park will be great for us all.

*Maybe when DS and DH get to running and rolling I can finally get into


















Carrie before Sex And The City??! I became a SATC fan late in the game but once I finally got into it I TOTALLY understood the craze and got HOOKED! This will hold me over until the movie comes out! :-)

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Setting a "New" Trend

"Wanna give a shout out to all my young married friends and all who are soon to be! We are making it cool again :-)"

Recently a friend of mine posted this quote as her status on facebook and I couldn't help but smile. A few years ago, I remember turning around and almost everyone was having a baby however in the past year and a half I've noticed something different has happened. The baby boom is back amongst my range of friends, but more than that more of them are getting married! I am 25 years old and I've been with my husband for 4 years and married for almost 2 recently we were invited to celebrate to nuptials of my college roommate and her fiance of almost 4 years. The friend I quoted is the proud mother to two amazing twins and amazing wife to her husband of 3 years. All around they're either doing it or have done it and even with the "youngin" ups and downs are celebrating the fact that they're not a wifey or a shorty to these men, they are their wives! What touches most is when I see the HUSBANDS (that word gives me chills as I write) celebrate their women, in love with the fact that they have someone that has their back at all times, and the pride beams the smile at just the mention of their child's name.

"It's too many black women that can say they mothers but can't say that they wives..."
~Common Sense Retrospect For Life feat. Lauryn Hill

I watch my husband play with our 8 month old and I can't help but fall in love with him all over again. To know that my son will have someone to look up to who will look out for him, love him, encourage him, and show him what a stand up man should be from the crack of dawn to the setting of the sun! He doesn't have to watch tv to get an example of what a man does to support his family, he doesn't have to go outside the home to know what responsibility looks like, and from day one he'll indelibly know how it is that a man is supposed to treat a woman and how that woman is supposed to respond to that treatment. I'm so PROUD of him!

Now, I remember the 1st month of our little one being home and I can't count the amount of times I said "I have so much more respect for the women who had to do this all by themselves"! It was rough! And I can't imagine where you have to look to pull that kind of strength from but I give it to you and I'm proud of all of you who have raised children on your own...

All day I've been hit with articles and conversation of men returning to their families, young black married couples numbers on the rise, and more and more we're celebrating the longevity and strength that comes from a marriage!

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher

(longest married couple alive 84 YEARS!!!)

So today I just want to highlight my young (and seasoned) married couples for reviving the trend and reminding the world that there's a major strength in a COMPLETE family unit. To those who haven't found it yet, in due time when you're ready it will find you and you won't regret the wait!

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Top Ten Seasoned Advice for Young Married Couples

1-Get your pride out of the equation and try to see yours and his/her side of the argument.

2-Forget the "Don't Go to Bed Mad" rule, sometimes you need to go to sleep to cool down but don't let the "silent argument" go on for more than the next day.

3-COMMUNICATE!!! Talk it out! Sometimes you won't feel like it but what they don't know, they can't fix!

4-Do not use sex as punishment! It backfires in more ways then one.

5-Go back to what made you friends in the first place. If you went to the movies on Wednesday, or you made him dinner on Sundays in the beginning try to go back to that at least one in a while.

6-Find a common ground to stand on. Be it church, philosophical practices, or yoga. Share something that takes you to another level, it creates a bond like none other.

7-Celebrate the journey but map out the rest.

8-There are 3 people in a marriage. The Husband. The Wife. Your God! NO ONE ELSE! Seek wise counsel but NEVER invite anyone into your relationship, EVER!

9-Be patient! Especially in the early days, it will take a while to feel out each other's quirks but find a way to either alter (ladies read change lol) them or adjust yourself to them. (Ie. Socks on the floor or tools in the bedroom)

10- Remember the Love! Remember that this is your boo, your sweetie, your One and Only. The one person that no matter what has your back and in most cases, YES, even more than your mother! Think back to what made you rush home to see them, remember how excited you got when you knew they were coming over, feel the pitter patters in your heart when their name shows up on the caller id! It truly helps you get over any and everything when it's all said and done.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the newly weds and soon to be's! and CONGRATS to all of you who have done it and are still doing it!

Remembering Class

I don't have to be an imitation of a white woman that

Hollywood sort of hoped I'd become
I'm me, and I'm like no body else.
~Lena Horne

I remember the first time I saw Lena Horne, it was a Cosby Show episode and Claire surprised Dr. Huxtable with a date night to a jazz club to see his favorite crooner. I remember sitting with my brother and thinking, Wow, that woman is gorgeous! It was the first time I remember ever taking note of someone so beautiful. But not only that, her voice was smooth and her walk was sure but easy, no effort was put into her fabulosity. I think back to trying to smile as cool as she did.

As I got older, I started learn more and more about her and all that she'd done for the Civil Rights movement and acting in general. She was the epitome of class and the new era woman I so wish we could get back to. You know, a lady that knows what it means to be a LADY!

Ms. Horne has gone home to be with the angels and I pray she's at rest but it is also my wish that we never forget the impact she had on the world, on the female struggle and over haul, and hope that she left for everyone that comes after her.

Thank you Ms. Horne for showing us with Grace and Class was all about.

R.I.P..

Lena Horne

(1917-2010)

WELCOME TO NEW YORK STATE OF MOM!

It's a PAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

I've been thinking and debating about starting this blog and putting my family out for you all to see and finally it's here! Here you'll find reviews on any and almost every product I use for my little guy as well as things to do in NYC with a family, significant other, girls/guys night, or solo. New York is truly my first love, the energy, the movement, the opportunities to just be great keeps me motivated and inspired and now that I've returned from Philadelphia (that's a whole other story I let you all in on later) I'm ready to show you exactly what that means. I'm back married and as a Mommy and I couldn't appreciate life any more!

There are so many blogs that inspired me to get out here and add my two cents and I hope you all have stopped by to check me out. But back to the Launch Party...

Today is special because it is Mother's Day (my 1st!!!) and it marks the launch of my cyber baby-New York State of MoM! So in honor of this Mother's Day and to start my blogging off right, I am inviting you all to participate in the 1st ever NYSoM Giveaway! It is an Essie Manicure Gift Basket that will come complete with 3 Essie Nail Polish selections in the finest shades for the Spring/Summer Season, emory board, polish remover, swabs, and the creamiest hand cream.



All you have to do to enter the giveaway is:

a)Subscribe to the Blog.

b)Leave me a comment to tell me you were here.

c)Include your blog address so that I can show love back!

The winner will be chosen at 11pm tonight so you have all day to post and let your friends know about this special giveaway. This blog is near and dear to my heart and I'm oh so excited to get to know you all too! Good luck to you all and thanks for checking me out!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!