Another week in the books. Another week with the boot. The end is in sight, though. This time next week, I’ll be bootless! I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like to wear two shoes at the same time. Maybe I’ll be putting up pictures of myself in the boot for Throwback Thursday . . .in a few years though.
Ahhh, #tbt. The first time I saw that hashtag, I had no idea what it meant. Yes, I Googled it. Now, I’m all about it. But, I’ve always been taking pictures and saving things to pull out for remember when moments. If you and I did something together, chances are I’ve got a picture of it somewhere. This week, I threw up a few pictures from college — one from a trip to the Vineyard with some friends and one from that time I got my tongue pierced (yes, really). I had one from high school left over that I put up today, just because it was a good memory. That last one got me to thinking about my high school experience, what a really great time that was. I can’t tell you a single thing I learned, except maybe Congruent Parts of Congruent Triangles are Congruent, my standard answer for all proofs in tenth grade geometry. Oh, and that I’m “lovable and capable” as Sister Marie Thomas would make us state before she would let us leave typing (do they even call it that anymore? better question, do they even have that class anymore?).
I did learn some things, obviously, but I like revisiting the times spent with my girlfriends and the shenanigans we got up to, in and out of school. Sledding down the front lawn on cafeteria trays. Lunch at T.G.I.Friday’s on half-day Wednesdays. Eyebrow plucking in the Senior Lounge? Mrs. Skutnik and her Fallopian Tubes (that one’s an inside joke for sure).
My friend Erin would host a holiday brunch at her house during Christmas season. Sometime during the break, you’d get this note with all the details. The note would be Calvin and Hobbes from the funnies, but their regular dialogue bubbles would have been replaced with Erin’s handwriting asking if you’d heard about the brunch and if you were planning on coming (I’m sure I’ve still got one in one of my scrapbooks). We’d all pile over to her house, sit around eating, and laughing. We may have even done some Secret Santa Swap, too. I know one year, we visited a reindeer farm after stuffing ourselves with baked goods and other sweets.
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| Oh, deer! |
I remember thinking that a reindeer farm in our hometown was kind of random (we lived in suburban New Jersey), but it was the holidays, so we went with it. It also could have been from the copious amounts of Kahlua laced caked we’d eaten just a few hours before. Yes, I’ll admit it — I engaged in some underage imbibing when I was in high school. Of cousre, being the goody-two shoes that I am, I never snuck nips from the liquor cabinet or replaced vodka with water. I used it to cook with.
I would make a Kahlua Chocolate Trifle Cake every so often and bring it to school for lunch. The nuns would let me store it in the massive cafeteria fridge. During lunch, the group of us would grab our spoons and attack the mixing bowl full of chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, Cool (huh)Whip, and toffee bars. I can still hear the girls banging their spoon clenched fists on the table and chanting “Kah-lu-a! Kah-lu-a!” as I walked to the table bearing the dessert to end all desserts. I’d drop the bowl in the middle of the table and step back. You ever see that reel on Animal Planet or Discovery when the pride of lions demolishes that unassuming wildebeest? Yeah, it was kind of like that.
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| Erin’s Christmas Brunch. Note the lack of plates. |
So to complete this trip down memory lane, I leave you with the recipe for Kahlua Chocolate Trifle (and how it’s actually supposed to be presented). Although, there is something fun and deliciously naughty about eating it out of mixing bowl with a soup spoon. Happy Friday, y’all!
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Kahlua Chocolate Trifle (recipe found here)
Ingredients
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 box chocolate pudding
1 tub of cool whip, light
2 Heath bars crumbled
1 c. Kahlua
Directions
Make the cake in a 9 X 13 pan as directed on the box. After you pull it out of the oven, pierce the cake all over and pour kahlua on top and allow it to soak into the cake. (YUM)
Make the pudding as directed and let it set and cool.
After the cake has cooled, cut into 1-inch cubes. Layer half of the cake on the bottom of a trifle bowl. Layer half of the chocolate pudding on top of the cake, and half of the cool whip on top of the pudding. Top with plenty of heath bar crumbles. Repeat.
Best when served chilled, and even better the next day. Can also make individual servings.