"Sydney's mom! Sydney's mom!"

Honestly, I had a great day today. I got my exercise walking through the zoo with 18 first graders and their entourage of teachers and parents. I got to spend time with my friend. I got to eat a hamburger for lunch. And, I got to be an awesome mom. All in all, a pretty fantastic day.
11 Things about Today:
1. No goat tried to eat Sydney's lunch. In fact, we didn't even get near any goats.
2. Sometimes, it gets super cold in Houston. I made it down to the zoo in record time, so ended up standing outside for about 30 minutes waiting for Marlo, and then the kids. I dressed as warm as I could, but standing outside when it's cold is just a way to court being cold, I think.
3. Eighteen kids at the zoo is a fun thing. They rocked.
4. The giraffe looked right at us. The bears were hibernating. The lionesses were chewing on something (that I can only hope was a zebra bone, because that would be so cool). The meerkats were happy. Unfortunately, the cold weather made for a whole lot of empty animal enclosures. Everyone was trying to stay warm.
5. Kids will run to the first mom they see when they get freaked out by something.
6. I didn't get the haircut that I wanted, because I was so tired that I just came home, ate my lunch, and sat on the sofa until I had to go pick her up at school.
7. Marlo is awesome. I enjoy having a friend here!
8. Jellyfish are still among my favorite animals.
9. Many children eat more fresh fruits and vegetables than my child. But my child will eat dried fruit and prefers pita chips, as compared to the Cheeto messes and potato chip bags I saw at lunch. I guess it's a give and take.
10. All children will reply and respond when called, "baby," "sweetheart," and "honey." But I only call mine, "angel face."
11. Also, my little girl is a confident, independent and smart rock star. (I'm biased, but really, it's the truth.)

Goats, goats, and more goats

Tomorrow, I attend my first field trip with Sydney's class as a parental chaperone.
We're going to the zoo, and I'm actually getting pretty excited. She told me today that there are a lot of parents going along, and I'm giddy that Marlo is going, too. So, I will drop her at school, since she has to travel with her class in their bus, make a quick stop at Starbucks, and then sit in traffic for a while on my way to the zoo. I'll probably be at the zoo a bit earlier than her class, but that's okay, I'll chill in the sunshine.
So, here's the big question: Am I going to the zoo on her field trip to protect her from my own traumatic childhood memories? I remember -- vividly -- going to the zoo (I think it was in kindergarten) and standing there, helpless in fear or uncertainty, as a goat bit through my lunch bag and then proceeded to eat my lunch as it hit the ground. I'm certain someone fed me something for lunch that day, but the fact that I remember the incident as clearly as I do may -- just may -- have been so psychologically scarring that I refuse to let my own daughter go to the zoo without my chaperoning her.
Still, a day at the zoo will be fun!

Wifi bad; LTE good

There's something wrong with my wifi at home, so I'm rocking this post on my phone. Not as much fun to type, to be sure, as well as less photo-adjacent.
You all would be proud of me. I got all my shopping done today, including the NyQuil and DayQuil in capsule form. This will make for a better night sleep, I hope. Already I had a better night sleep last night.
I'm antsy in my pantsy though, and am eager to get to feeling better. Tomorrow, I'm going to make some blueberry muffins for my kid.
ALSO, that picture, which I did figure put how to attach to the post, is of a red panda at our local zoo. So cool!!

Being sick sucks

It might look to you like I took the weekend off from the blog, but really, I've been feeling pretty crappy. Sydney came home with a runny nose last week, and Saturday, I felt it settling into my own body. Saturday night was an early one for me. Yesterday, well, I got super tired after using so much energy watching the Oscars and The Walking Dead, so just climbed into bed and crashed.
I suppose, if only feeling the need to have a single one-hour nap means that one is feeling better today, then yes, I am feeling better today. Tomorrow, I hope to have the energy to get to the grocery store. I've been suffering without my breakfast shakes in the morning, and of paramount importance is bread for Sydney's sandwiches. Also, munchies. I've been so hungry for something specific to snack on, but I can't yet figure out what that specific something is. I'm pretty sure it's cookie related, perhaps Fig Newtons, but I definitely have a yearning for something yummy. And Sydney needs ice cream.
Have I told you how much I hate not feeling well? I honestly don't mind the runny nose and even a cough. It's the fatigue and quick temper that bugs me more than anything. It makes me feel like a bad mom more than anything, and that just makes me want to cry. Oh, cripes. What a depressing post this is.
I shall get good sleep tonight and feel better tomorrow!

"Say something human."

We've been quoting Warm Bodies all day. I will say, Brian chose today's movie and he "nailed it." I giggled throughout the film, quite obviously thoroughly enjoying it. The story was adorable, and the voice-over/internal monologue was the best. "God, we move slow." I will admit to being incredibly proud of myself for being the literary dork that picked up the Romeo and Juliet parallels so early, and being able to show off the clues to my husband. "Don't be creepy. Don't be creepy." Also, it was brilliant.

It should have been a poll. I'd vote no

All I can think about is the headline I just saw on Yahoo! about whether or not Taylor Swift is a good ex. Having read enough about her relationships and her songs, I can say with certainty that no, she is not a good ex. But, that's all conjecture. I don't listen to her music, and I don't care to. She's one of those celebrities to me, you know, the ones that bug you for so many reasons that you can't even name them. She seems to me to be a serial dater who makes her "boyfriends" break up with her, and then imbues the relationship with so much more emotion after it's over, and then writes a song that gets played ad nauseum on the radio. Then she makes a video.
Why this girl is still finding men to date her is beyond me. She seems ... toxic. And needy. And bizarre. Like I said, I don't follow her movements online. I don't follow her on Twitter. I don't care for her bangs. I'm a casual observer of her as a random part of the current pop culture.
I abhor this post because it's about her. But when Yahoo! asks a question, it deserves an answer.

Just stop talking. You can't fix it

I think every decent society should have a set of unbreakable rules. These rules should govern a society's behavior and the behavior of its citizens. Of course, there are countless rules, big and small, grand and not so much. One comes to mind after my day yesterday.
If a woman doesn't have a sign around her neck declaring pregnancy, do not ever assume that she's pregnant. And because of that uncertainty, people just need to keep their mouths shut.
Case in point: At the post office yesterday, in a long, crowded line, a 60-something woman said to the 40-something woman in front of her, "Well, this is crowded. Not much space for you and the baby." The other one says, loudly as she pulls out her sweatshirt and shifts her weight, "Oh, I'm not pregnant. I'm just fat." She kind of barked a laugh, too. The falsely observant one reaches out and touches the not-pregnant's arm and apologizes, but then makes a show of her own girth, fluffs out her blouse and tries to make it less uncomfortable by continuing to talk, "Not that I have any right to say anything, I mean, look at me." And then she keeps talking, "It's because my dad taught me how to cook. ... Blah, blah, blah."
At that point, I just stopped listening, because I couldn't believe that this woman was continuing to speak at all. I don't know how awkward she felt, but I know I was cringing at every word she said. How she managed to not just leave the building in an embarrassed flurry, I don't know. What I do know is that both those women must have had weird days following: one was afraid to speak at all, and the other was uncomfortable in her obviously unflattering sweatshirt.
The whole experience did little more than confirm to me the solid truth behind this rule: If you don't know the woman, and know for a fact that she's pregnant, keep your mouth shut. Just assume that every woman with a belly, who doesn't wear a shirt saying, "I'M PREGNANT," just has a big belly. That'll save a whole lot of uncomfortableness and awkward foot-in-mouth situations.

Bleck. I wish I'd left it there

ITEM!: I just ate my first piece of Easter candy. I'm actually pretty proud of myself, since the candy has been sitting on the counter for about a week. It was a Reese's peanut butter egg. I wouldn't say that I love the Reese's peanut butter eggs, but it was there, you know, and it was feeling lonely. It also will be the only one I eat. "There's a party in my tummy; so yummy, so yummy..." But not really, because I feel kinda gross right now.
ITEM!: I had a great blog post for tonight, but come to find out that my mother has been a perpetrator to the crime I was going to talk about, so I don't want to opine about it. It might make her feel worse-r, and that isn't allowed. (I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!!)
ITEM!: Brian got me watching a super cool documentary on the Eagles on Showtime tonight. It was fantastic, actually.  I didn't know much of the history of the band, so it was interesting to see how they got popular, and how they broke up and then got back together. Before tonight, I didn't even know who the other band members were besides Glenn Frey and Don Henley. And while I have a couple of their songs on my iPod, I didn't realize just how many of their songs I liked until I watched this show. I see an iTunes shopping spree in my immediate future, and Sydney having the lyrics to "Hotel California" seared into her brain. It was an excellent documentary. I highly recommend it.
ITEM!: I finally made my way to Best Buy to do an electronic recycling drop. Also, I had some questions about the television being recycled. I am enjoying that Best Buy does this. It's awesome. I have a nice pile of things to be disposed of, and I'm eager to get it done now.
ITEM!: Also, how do you explain to a six-year-old that her daddy's 40th birthday non-plans are more important than her classmate's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese on the same day? Because my first attempt at the explanation was a bit of a bust.

I can not tell a lie, it was yummy

We celebrated President's Day by having a Presidents' dinner. We did minimal research, but still came up with a decent menu. Roasted chicken, because Abraham Lincoln enjoyed chicken casserole (Google); broccoli, because Barack Obama has a vegetable garden on the White House property (news sources); garlic bread, because we like Eisenhower's name (made that one up); and cherry pie, because George Washington cut down the cherry tree (folk legend). That was the menu, but what we all actually ate was a bit different. Brian had the chicken and the garlic bread. Sydney ate some chicken and applesauce, which had to be finished before she was allowed to eat a piece of the garlic bread. I ate chicken, a couple clementines, and a pile of garlic bread, because it's one of my favorite things, and because I like and remember the slogan, "I Like Ike."
I enjoy having a themed dinner, even if it didn't go exactly as planned. But Sydney was totally into it, and I know Brian likes it when he comes home and I have some sort of plan for family dinner, rather than, "I don't know. Maybe we could make some sandwiches or I can order a pizza? You feel like driving somewhere?"

Editor's note: Now, having written all that, and then going hunting online for a picture of cherry pie, I discovered that Cherry Pie is a name for a type of marijuana, too. The Internet is educational, my friends.

Damn skippy, I say

So, I got an impact headache from jumping rope this afternoon.
Am I too old for jumping rope? Too heavy? Should I be wearing better shoes than my Toms? Should I have been jumping rope on the grass or a softer surface instead of the concrete? Is my brain not capable of bouncing as well as it used to?
These are all issues that a few Advil were able to make bearable, though there still are some lingering pains. I don't like that we finally went downstairs for another jumping rope lesson, and the headache made me stop after a while. Also, she stopped ... because this isn't becoming easier immediately, and that means it's too hard to ever get, and that means we should pout.
Anyway, impact headaches are a real thing.

It's like an ambush with cookies

ITEM!: I hate it when I'm so tired at the end of the day, but I look back and can see no reason whatsoever to be as tired as I am. I hardly did anything today. Going to the grocery store, eating lunch and packing away the Valentine's Day decorations should not be a reason to be sitting here yawning my head off and fighting to keep my eyes open. And yet ...
ITEM!: I cleaned out my To-Be-Read book pile this afternoon. I will be donating both Life of Pi and The Weird Sisters. I have decided to watch and thoroughly enjoy Life of Pi as a movie, and about the other book, well, I got bored of not wanting to read it next. I think tomorrow I'll get started on Princess Elizabeth's Spy. And then, on to the rest of the pile and the Nook books.
ITEM!: I had an un-delicious experience at SmashBurger today for lunch. This bothers me for a couple reasons, 1. Brian doesn't always love the place, so when he's feeling consensual, the food needs to be awesome, and 2. I hate it when the french fries aren't as good as they usually are. That second reason is totally selfish, because I really love my french fries.
ITEM!: I ate a whole bunch of Girl Scout cookies this afternoon. We knew we were in trouble when we drove up to the grocery store and saw the cookie stand outside the exit. We had thought we were safe because we didn't have any cash, but then I remembered that I did, and told Brian that if he wanted his cookies, he had better by me a box of mine. Turned out to be a good deal for both of us. Not a good deal for the cookies, though. Most of them are dead now.
ITEM!: I'm also running out of pretty blog photos. Time to go on an Internet images stealing spree!!

Happy hearts all around

I didn't have a single cupcake today. I feel like the holiday was a little bit of a failure because of it.
Perhaps tomorrow my husband will venture to Sprinkles with me again, so I can indulge my hunger for chocolate chip raspberry goodness.
Other than that, Valentine's Day was pretty awesome.

I love being a Valentine!

I'm afraid that my tirade the other night about the unacceptable gifts for Valentine's Day may have come off a bit ... anti-Valentine's. That's not the case. In fact, I quite enjoy Valentine's Day for the pure love of it all. Sure, it's a made-up holiday. Of course, card companies and florists make a killing. But if everyone takes a day to celebrate their love for someone (or someones) else, there are worse things. With all the hate and violence in the world, it's nice to have a reminder, even if it is kinda forced, to recognize the love we have for each other.
You'll notice I didn't say a thing about cards the other night. Because I think Valentines are awesome. And I love getting them. I've got a nice pile of them on my dining room table right now: one from Mommy, one from Sydney, and one from Brian. Sydney's pile is a larger one, and she also gets a present. (You all know me, any excuse to buy that child a gift is a good one!) I believe that I may get a couple more Sprinkles cupcakes tomorrow afternoon, too. And I think we're going to have dinner at the Italian place down the street.
Sydney and I also have confirmed mine, hers, and everyone else's Valentine status in the house, so everybody is ready for tomorrow. Love, hearts, hugs and kisses are good things.

Did you hear that? Sinbad beckons!

ITEM!: Sinbad the Sailor is in my mailbox right now! I just tracked the shipment, and according to the UPS tracker, it was delivered today. This is beyond exciting for me, you guys. Guess what I'll be watching tomorrow! Yay me!! And yay Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and his fantastic way of jumping around in this film! This is going to be so great!
ITEM!: I think my new pet peeve is husbands and wives communicating with each other on Facebook more than a minimal amount. Y'all got married for a reason, and it wasn't so you'd have better communication with each other via social media. Comment on each other's status, as you will, but a constant stream of patter via timeline and postings is obnoxious. Just look at each other and speak thus. ... You see? That's better.
ITEM!: I didn't watch the State of the Union speech tonight. I prefer to read the text the following day, when I can read the words, hear the voice in my head, and not see the condescending and asshole-ish looks from dudes like Boehner, Bachmann and McCain. Having said that and making myself sound pretentious, I probably won't end up reading the speech tomorrow. Twitter is my news source.
ITEM!: My mother disagrees with me in regards to chocolate diamonds. (See previous post, where I declare war on shiny dirt clods.) She assures me that the good quality ones are pretty. Whatever, I say, they've no place in a jeweler's case. It's only a matter of time though, before she changes her mind and comes over to my way of thinking, like with smaller handbags, silver accessories, and cross-country drives.
ITEM!: I've been moving my next to-be-read book with me from room to room for the last five days. I need to just sit down and get started on it, but I think my head is waiting for the weekend. Or a day when I've got less to do during Sydney's school than usual. But that won't be tomorrow. Sinbad beckons.

A Valentine's Day primer

Chocolate diamonds look like dirt clods. I don't know who or what company decided that little bits of glassy dirt would be ideal additions to the "gem" club, but they are crazy. Chocolate diamonds are a pox on the reputation of diamonds. I think Kay Jewelers, or whoever I just saw on the television, is the worst pusher of expensive dirt clods ever. Men! Do not buy chocolate diamonds!
Lingerie is a good thing, but is best purchased by the woman who plans to wear it. That woman knows what looks best on her, and what is most comfortable for her. Lingerie is considered to be a gift for the man who takes it off, but rather, it is a gift of self-confidence for the woman. If she's wearing it, she knows it works on her, and that is a confidence booster. That confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can wear. Men! Do not buy lingerie!
Flowers are a racket. I used to work down the street from a florist, and for the weeks and days leading up to Valentine's Day, the price of a dozen roses would go up. In January, roses were $12 a dozen. A couple days before Valentine's Day, the price was $24.99. On Valentine's Day itself, a dozen roses was as high as 35 dollars. Ever since I saw that, and watched it happen year after year, I've lost all interest in roses, and flowers in general, for Valentine's Day. Men! Flowers are a racket!
Candy is a personal choice. If a woman likes candy, she likes a specific candy. The trick to buying candy is in knowing whether or not the person is interested in busting a calorie boundary for the holiday. Buy it when the Valentine is dieting and trouble brews. Buy the wrong stuff and you'll be accused of not paying attention. And may the gods help you if you buy the Whitman's Sampler at the corner store. Cheap candy has no place, no matter the sentiment. Men! If you must buy candy, buy not-cheap and good candy!
I realize that all these things make Valentine's Day difficult (especially for Brian, who knows all my rules, but who also benefits from the fact that I'm perfectly happy with a card and lunch), but heed these simple "Men! Don't Do This" suggestions, and you're good to go.
[Editor's note: All these are subject to the Valentine's whim. If they want lingerie, flowers and candy, do the do and get them, damn the cost of the flowers. But seriously, don't ever buy chocolate diamonds. If you're going to buy diamonds, buy DIAMONDS.]

Daryl Dixon for president

Typically, Brian wakes up from his med-evening nap about 11 p.m. to go to the bathroom and to have a random snack. I am finding things to do until then so I can take advantage of those few minutes of wakefulness of his so we can watch The Walking Dead. He's been asleep since 8:20 or so, which was before Sydney went to bed, so I've been stuck waiting for him to be awake so we can watch the show.
Why am I waiting for him? Because that show is crazy good, super suspenseful, and not a little scary. I like having someone sitting next to me who'll hold my hand during the freaky stuff.
And I can't wait until tomorrow, because as of almost three hours ago, the Internet became off limits because of spoilers. There is no way I can get near Twitter right now. I have to watch the show before I get online tomorrow. Beyond all that, yeah, I just want to see what happens next.

One brownie full of gluten, please

Explain to me why, if you don't have to have a gluten-free diet, you would purchase gluten-free food. I can only imagine that it doesn't taste as good as gluten-full food. And now I know, that yes, gluten-full brownies taste better than gluten-free brownies. My husband, culinary adventurer that he is, decided that we should taste some gluten-free brownies, and bought a mix last Friday. I made them that afternoon.
Now, after a full 24 hours and a couple small tastes of these "brownies," I can tell you with certainty that, while they're probably tasty enough for those who must have this kind of diet restriction, for the rest of us, I suggest, don't be curious. Stick to the gluten-full brownies. They are so much better.
I'm a brownie snob, I know. I love me some brownies. But buying deliberately different brownie ingredients just to taste them is an awful idea.
But it has done wonders for my calorie counting this weekend. I rarely walk past a brownie pan without cutting one and digging in. Yesterday and today have not been any kind of test of my willpower. They just don't taste good enough to waste the calories on. I miss real brownies, though.
Actually, I don't have any normal brownie mix in my house right now, but I do have a chocolate muffin mix in the pantry. Yes. I'm all over those tomorrow.

Bad nap! Bad nap!

I hate sleeping on the sofa. It makes me feel cheated from enjoying the effects of a real nap. It's especially worse when the incident occurs at night. I missed a whole lot of ParaNorman, and I got a crappy bit of sleep. And now all I can think about is going to back to sleep.
But I did stay awake long enough to register the need for a midnight snack. And to watch the last 45 minutes of AVP: Alien vs. Predator. And to get some blogging done. And to mess around with Vine (no porn!). And to have a nice drink of water.
By way of explanation: Vine is a new smartphone app that shares six-second videos through social media. My first video is of Daisy eating a cracker. These videos will, unfortunately, only be available through my Twitter feed. I simply refuse to drown my Facebook page with them.
Also, I need to get my Valentine's Day stuff done tomorrow. Sydney and I will team up for that, and hit the Hallmark store in the morning. I do enjoy me some Valentines.

A writer who writes? Weird

I'm feeling a bit foggy tonight.
I think I may be a little bit mentally exhausted.
You see, I'm having a love affair with my computer this week. I've spent countless hours in front of its glowing screen over the last few days. I have a story, and its growing every day. Actually, I have a couple stories. One is just waiting for me to edit it. The other is the reason behind my foggy head right now. Its a good 8,000 words right now, and I can see where I'm about a third of the way into it.
When I'm not typing, I hear the characters and see what's happening next. But what I've discovered is how tiring it can be to churn out words for five hours a day on a computer.
What else is exhausting? Trying to figure out how I'll be able to get another thousand words (or more!) done tomorrow with Brian home. Or over the weekend, with Sydney home.
My angel says take a couple days off.
My devil tells me to plug in and make them fend for themselves for an hour or so.
Or is that vice versa?

Such a prize! SINBAD is coming!

I took part in the most delightful scavenger hunt this evening.
It begins with my near obsession for Sinbad the Sailor, a movie starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and Maureen O'Hara, that was released in 1947. I've mentioned before in the blog that I love this film (June, 2010), and bemoaned the fact that the movie isn't available on DVD.
Today's hunt began innocently enough. As is my custom when I'm checking my Netflix queue, I wander around a bit on the Watch Instantly portion of the site. I clicked on the "Classics," hoping to see Sinbad. (I do this every couple months or so.)
With nothing on Netflix, I bopped over to my Yahoo! homepage, and keyed in the movie title, hoping for something. I was greeted with a list of mentions, as well as links to images from the movie. In these mentions also was a link to the movie's IMDb page.
I clicked on that page, and found the basic information the web site has on every movie: cast, crew, trivia, production details. At the bottom of the page is the message board. I clicked on it with a shrug, since the post's title was wondering why the movie wasn't on DVD.
The fourth, fifth and sixth comments on that thread mentioned that the movie was playing on Turner Classic Movies just then. Sadly, this was in 2010. Who knows when TCM is really playing that movie, all of three years later, I thought. But still, doesn't hurt to check.
I searched for TCM and clicked on that home page. From there, I did a search for the movie, and found that the site did indeed have some information, as well as some clips and the official movie trailer from 1947. This, I can assure you, was very exciting. I settled into my chair more comfortably, and clicked on the first link. Eureka! The first three minutes of the movie!
Before the second clip started though, TCM showed an advertisement about some Joan Crawford movies they're selling on DVD in the TCM online shop. Check it out, said the advertisement. Well, okay. I checked out the shop's site, for certain, on another hunch.
I did a search in the shop: "Action/Adventure" released "From 1940 to 1950." And holy cripes! Damned if my Sinbad the Sailor movie didn't show up in the listing! And it was only released on DVD in November of last year! WHAT?!?! This movie, that I've been waiting -- literally -- years to have on DVD, is finally available on DVD, and I can have it! I can just order it, and it'll come to me at my house!
I don't think I need to tell you how quickly I hopped up to get my wallet so I could make my purchase. TCM tells me that it'll be here in five to 10 days. This is so awesome!
Best. Scavenger. Hunt. Ever.

Also, save some money

Brian and I wrote out our List of Goals for February this past weekend. Poor Daisy is on the hook to lose a pound by her next weight check-in. That means that I'm dropping the hammer on any extra-curricular eating she does, which means that Oliver's food is going to be hand-fed to him, ensuring that she doesn't get any of it. Also, a carry-over from last month: finish the beer in the refrigerator.
Most importantly, I am to send out three query letters to literary agents. And I've had an epiphany about my book. I'm going to spend the day tomorrow reformatting it from a rhyming scheme to a straight-up story. No rhyming, no sing-songing. I think that will make it a more user-friendly piece, and will increase my chances of it getting read.
Also, the agents are accepting queries via e-mail, which gives you a quicker response. And makes it easier for chicken-shit authors like myself to just e-mail the thing, and know that it's sent and there's nothing that can be changed about it. Done and done. Stop being scared. Also, by the time you finish your next breath, your life is in someone's inbox, and maybe even something good will come from it.
I'm excited to dig into the book again tomorrow. After coffee, of course.

Football is over = sad

I think I'm taking the weekend off from posting to the blog.

But first, I have to tell you that this is a picture of a sunset from Mars. I love that we've got a little dude on Mars taking pictures and conducting experiments, and tweeting. It's amazing, really.

They're yummy for Valentines

I love cupcakes, but let me tell you something. My favorite cupcakes are the ones you can buy at a grocery store, with their tons of sugary frosting and their small price tag. I appreciate that there is a huge market out there for cupcakes, and that the costs of them must reflect that. But Kroger's are super yummy. As are Albertson's.
I've tried all the cupcake shops. There are several in and around Phoenix, and we've ventured into a few here, as well. But the frosting is either not too wonderful, or there is too much frosting, or the cake isn't that great, or they just don't have that awesomeness that I look for. Having said that, I do enjoy a pricey, artsy cupcake here or there.
Among my favorite, non-grocery store cupcakes is the raspberry chocolate chip cupcake at Sprinkles. It is only available in February, and it is well worth the wait for the other 11 months. A delicious chocolate, chocolate chip cake that's perfectly moist and not too sweet, with a fantastic raspberry frosting, that adds the right amount of fruity tartness and complementary flavor. I tell you, it's the best. Today, Brian and I ventured down to the Houston-area Sprinkles, and I made my first purchase of some of these cupcakes. We bought a box of six treats: three for me, two chocolate marshmallow for Brian, and one chocolate with chocolate frosting for Sydney.
I can't promise that I won't go buy more when these are gone. They're so good.