As promised, here's my favorite Chocolate Cream Pie recipe.

A word about Chocolate Cream Pie:
• It is the best pie. Ever.
• Some would make this with a chocolate crumb crust, but that would be a grave error. Part of what makes it fabulous is the contrast between the chocolatey, creamy filling, light fluffy whipped cream, and the flakey, delicate, butter crust.
• Make it your own! The recipes here have been adapted from the originals by my mom and I. The original sources were Real Simple magazine for the crust and Wanda's Pie in the Sky cookbook, by Wanda Beaver (highly recommended.)

( Recipe behind cut )

I'm watching a free On Demand movie called Robot Holocaust right now and it's so terrible, I looked it up to see if MST3K had parodied it... AND THEY HAVE. On Demand has such gems!

In other news, necessaryspace and I went to the Star Trek exhibit at the Detroit Science Museum today. I'll post pictures when I'm ambitious enough to load them. Then we went to the Detroit Institute of Art. It was a fun day! My feet hurt now.

I just made my first cheesecake. It puffed up quite a bit as it baked but I don't know if that's normal or not. Tomorrow I'm making a chocolate chip pie (another first) and both desserts are coming with me to my friend Jason's party.

More Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year than every other type of cancer combined.
You should put about 1 heaping teaspoon of sunscreen on your face/neck when you're going to be in the sun. Go nuts on the rest of your body too. Most people under-apply.
If you have a friend who uses a tanning booth, PUNCH HIM/HER IN THE FACE. You may just save a life.

Heather liked my half-baked travel idea so much, she's coming too! We both got tickets to fly to LA and see Farragut North along with Gary in July! Yay! AND we're considering spending a couple nights at a beachfront resort whilst Gary's at work. andkidnappingChrisPine

I have to go be poor now b/c between parking, airfare, hotel, and the cost of checking a bag (ppffft) I'm broke.

I'm having the most half-baked idea ever. I don't know what's gotten into me but I'm all spontaneous all the sudden. But I'm young! I can be spontaneous, right?!
I'm maybe kind of planning a last minute 3-4 day trip to LA to stay with my friend gregoricka and see Chris Pine in a play there (Farragut North). A ticket from Detroit to LA is running just under $300 and the tickets for the play are another $50-$70... but it's not really just about Captain Fine. It's also about me being young and spontaneous!! I need to sleep on it but srsly, I'm thisclose to buying the tickets.

I finally got around to watching Glee this weekend. It looks like a really cute show! I hope Fox doesn't cancel it. Why the hell would they show the pilot now for a show that doesn't come on for three months? I guess they're trying to build excitement and anticipation for the show but I'd think the long wait would cause interest (and viewership) to wane.
I've also enjoyed watching Parks and Recreation over at Hulu. That's the mockumentary-style comedy with Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones. I'm glad they renewed it. The first couple episodes were so so but I think it shows a lot of promise.
You can watch either show here at Hulu.

"Maybe Kirk eats kraft cheesy mac, but Pike would have a chef. "
-Nico, on the need for chefs on long space voyages.

I just semi-impulse-bought this dress from Modcloth.com. Is 24-hours semi-impulsive? I think that it is.
The challenge is: 1. will it look good on me? I'm not manequin shaped. 2. finding a bra to wear with it.

"She's Dominican, Lebanese, Indian, and Jamaican. Shit, United Colours of Bennitton just surrendered. They're United Colours of Zoë Fucking Zaldaña now."
- starlady42

Hottest. Picture. Ever.
Well... today.

That reminds me, I was eating some Combos today (a cheese filled pretzel snack) and on the back of the bag it said "The Official Cheese Filled Snack of NASCAR." Who knew NASCAR got so deep into categorizing their official snacks?



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I just made some really good french toast and it occurred to me to share recipes in my LJ for yous guys and also for myself down the road. Oftentimes when I make something, I do what I call "aproxi" make it, which means changing the ingredients to make it smaller (for just one person!) or healthier or leave out whatever I don't have/don't like. Sometimes this results in mediocrity, but sometimes it results in delicious french toast that has whole grains and less cholesterol than regular french toast. Like today. ( Am's french toast recipe behind cut if interested )
Maybe next time I'll write down what I put in deviled eggs b/c I made some this weekend that were pretty rocktastic.

necessaryspace and I saw the new Terminator today. It wasn't as bad as some of the reviews make it out to be. I'd say it was good for an action movie (and for a Terminator movie). The dialog was predictable and many of the key plot points were unbelievable, unlikely, or just plain factually incorrect (and holy deux ex machina, Batman!). But if you come for the scary robots, you won't be disappointed. Also, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anton Yelchin are super cute. I love how Bryce Dallas Howard is super beautiful without being emaciated- a woman who doesn't think healthy=compulsive exercising is very refreshing.


Bryce Dallas Howard=WIN


I also finally got around to watching How to Lose Friends and Alienate People w/Kirsten Dunst and Simon Pegg and Gillian Anderson. Sadly, Megan Fox is also in the movie- I can't stand her! She's such a transparent attention seeker. I can't believe anyone actually buys the "I'm bi-sexual... isn't that sexy and daring?! I don't play Hollywood games like most actresses do b/c I"m my own person" shit. I was surprised to see her in a movie made for people over the age of 12; although, she plays a vapid cokehead movie star and was thus wholly believable. Anyway, the movie was cute and funny at parts but also kind of inconsistent. Definitely entertaining- just not anyone's best work.

Weekend recap!

Saw Star Trek AGAIN! I know, number 4, yikes.


Fun macro by bzzinglikeneon

THEN Julie and I went to a bar to watch the Red Wings and I got super drunk even though I only had TWO DRINKS! It was crazytown. And the Wings won! Fuck yeah!
We were celebrating Julie's birthday but she ended up driving me home, because all the sudden it was the third period and I wasn't sober yet. Oops.

Went shopping! I bought a new frying pan even though I'm not supposed to buy more kitchen stuff but it was MY COLOR which is teal green & for a great price for such a nice pan. And some of our pans aren't sitting flat on the burners, so we need new ones anyway. I can't help it if I insist on quality cookwear! It's how I roll.
I also bought some sweet pants at Banana and a summer sweater-hoodie at the Columbia outlet. It's just like one I used to have that I wore to death, so I feel it's a good investment.

I desperately need to sort through the storage bins of clothes (currently in my room blocking the door) because some of this has to go to Goodwill. My closet is still full of sweaters which need to be stored and I need to hang up my summer clothes. Isn't it great when you can put the sweaters away and get out the warm-weather stuff? Plus, getting out last year's clothes is kind of like getting new stuff, because there's usually something cute I forgot I owned.

I can't sleep so I'll update. You're welcome.
Yesterday I made a rhubarb pie. I totally stuck the landing on the crust, and the filling was delicious, but it was a little too new-age-rhubarb for me. It had lots of cloves and orange zest and the rhubarb flavor really needed to shine though more. So this was really more of a rhubarb-spice pie- which is not a bad thing. Overall, a good pie from a fun cookbook.

So at first I was in love with the LJ community ohnotheydidnt because they were all about Star Trek: Fuck yeah! and how hot Chris Pine (and everyone else in the movie) is, but also how awesome old Trek was in it's own way. It's rare for me to find that group of people that are the right combination of nerdiness, sarcasm, unrestricted cussing, brains, irreverence, and unconditional love. Because I love my other Trek communities but sometimes they're so uuuhhhhhh. AND THEN they made ontd_startrek which may as well be called ONTD_fuckyeah b/c it's so much fun! It was blowing up my friends list though, so I visit in person. I suggest you do the same:

I just read that Dollhouse was picked up for another season, which really surprised me. I think Fox just wanted to prove that they can keep a Joss Wheadon show 2 seasons. Too bad they picked the wrong Joss Wheadon show.
Bones was renewed for two more seasons. I was thinking next season would be their last since they've been on such a downhill slide, but I guess not. So now I'm sure they'll string the B/B romance out even longer.

Medium was canceled but may be picked up by CBS, home of the far-inferior Ghost Whisperer. Cute GhostWhisp story: I meant to set the DVR to record the season finale last week before I left for the weekend, but I forgot. Heather noticed it wasn't recording and recorded it for me! And she doesn't even like that show! She's so sweet. I think I'll let her cat live even though it vomited on my office rug (in two different places).

In other news, I'll be attempting a pineapple pie later today (from a fun book of pie recipes Julie gave me, called Sweety Pies). And my dad and I are going to see The Soloist. Or as I like to call it Wait, they're still making movies that aren't Star Trek?

Update: Dad has a sinus infection and isn't coming, and the pineapple pie was going to be for him. I have an unbaked pie crust in the fridge. The possibilities are endless*!

*the possibilities are in fact limited by ingredients on hand. But maybe I'll go find some rhubarb? Can you buy that at regular grocery stores? At home, "finding rhubarb" involved walking down a hill behind the house. Sometimes I miss home.

Bones has officially jumped the shark, ya'll.
Amnesia?! Seriously?! SERIOUSLY!!

I have laryngitis. My voice is completely gone. I had to take a vacation day off work and I'll have to keep taking them off if my voice doesn't heal. Apparently it can last weeks (!!)... I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't come back soon.

I saw Star Trek: Fuck Yeah again today. Fun times. I have concluded that
1. the plot has... issues.
2. the character of Spock was written poorly
3. I want to make out with everyone else.

I'm sitting here watching Dollhouse with Heather and trying to figure out what to say about Star Trek that hasn't been said. I mean, it's really good. I'm a bit disturbed by the implications for the future but Trek has always been about infinite possibilities, and we know some of those possibilities aren't pretty. Also, I was a bit disappointed by Quinto's portrayal of Spock. All in all though, I have subtitled this Star Trek movie Star Trek XI: FUCK YEAH.

Dollhouse was really disappointing. Joss Wheadon is the M. Night Shyamalan of the television world.

I think I'm sick. My throat is swollen and hurty and my whole body aches. It's 6 a.m. and I can't sleep b/c laying down hurts. All this on Star Trek day! I want my LJ readers to know that Heather has explicit instructions to drag my lifeless body to the movie should I be comatose, so don't let her get away with pulling up to the ER, pushing me out, and speeding away to make the 8:20 showtime.

The thing about cough drops/lozenges is that I always find them everywhere except when I have a sore throat. They're like paperclips or rubber bands in that respect.

I forgot to post about an interesting book I recently read called The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon. It's a true account of a fourteen year old American boy suffering from depression who sets himself on fire. He survives, and much of the book focuses on his looong recovery and the reaction of his family and friends who heard him threaten suicide but didn't know to take it seriously. The book is written in a really honest voice and it gives you some insight into the mind of a depressed teen who would actually do something like that.

Today at work, a tech guy had to remote-in to my computer to install some software. He was like, "ooh, I forgot that was coming out Friday!" at which point I remembered he could see my Star Trek/Chris Pine desktop. I felt a little embarrassed- not about the Star Trek part- but about the Chris Pine part. It's the badass "Kirk II" pose, below, but he's so smokin hot I feel like it should have a little "Tiger Beat" logo in the bottom. Actually, both my computers AND the refrigerator are Chris Pine themed right now.


OK but I promise to stop talking about Star Trek!

In other news: Leonard Cohen will be in concert in Detroit this Saturday. They have cheap tickets on Stub Hub, but they're sold in pairs (!) and the ones sold single-ly are better seats/higher priced. I'm cool going or not going though. I love Leonard but I'm saving money for going to San Francisco.

Speaking of spending money I just bought these super cute earrings on etsy, but they were only $12.