The San Diego Wild Animal Safari Park

One of the benefits of being a member of the Zoological Society of San Diego is unlimited admission to the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Safari Park. So MH and I went to the Wild Animal Safari Park for President's Day. Since we got a little bit of a late start, we didn't make it to the park until after lunch and it was the most crowded we have ever seen it. We had to park in the last row in the parking lot!

Once inside, we headed straight for the Africa tram tour and luckily the wait wasn't too long. It is always fun to see what the animals are up to. This baby rhino was enjoying an afternoon snack with his mom.

Afterward, we hung out in the Lion Camp, watched the Cheetah Run, and MH caught this awesome photo as she passed by! It was a good thing that he has some practice shooting fast animals because there is no way I could have captured a shot like that on my camera.

It was a fun President's Day activity.

Happy Hearts Day!

I was feeling crafty this Valentine's day and made these treats to celebrate the day. Spearing cake bites is quite the challenge and much more difficult than I anticipated. Even though they turned out okay, I don't think I'll be making these again.

Hope someone made your heart happy today!

Shenanigans At The DMV

Since my motorcycle permit expired, I thought it was a good idea to kill two birds with one stone and renew my permit and change my name on my ID at the same time. So I filled out all of my paperwork, stood in line at the DMV, and waited patiently for the gal at my window to process all of my forms and send me on my way. However, when I didn't receive my new ID after two months, I called the DMV to follow up and discovered that since I processed the two requests together, the issuance of my new ID was pending me passing the motorcycle driving test!

I don't drive my Vespa too often and didn't pass the motorcycle driving test on my first go. Thankfully you can take a California motorcycle saftey course (Basic Rider Course) provided by the California Motorcycle Safety Program and obtain a Certificate of Completion of Motorcycle Training (DL389) which waives you out of the motorcycle driving test.

So, MH and I enrolled for the Basic Rider Course with the Academy of Motorcycle Operation last weekend and attended the two classroom sessions and two range days, and then passed the 50-point multiple choice test and skills evaluation. Within 10 business days we should be receiving our DL389 forms. Then, we can head over to the DMV with our forms and hopefully our new IDs with my new last name and our M1 classification will arrive shortly thereafter.

Birthday Treats

Birthday celebrations are always a great reason to bake! I was asked to bring a carrot cake to a friend's kid's first birthday party this weekend and I happily obliged.

Unfortunately, I forgot to tape the cake down to the plate, and when we transported the cake to the party, it slid around a bit and a few of the side crumbs fell off. Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened and the cake still looked pretty good when we arrived.

Here is my friend's secret family recipe birthday cake. It is quite the treat and has layers and layers of cake and chocolaty goodness inside.

Since my friend was worried there wasn't going to be enough dessert, I decided to bring some lemon ricotta cookies too. I've been holding on to this recipe for a while and was glad to finally have to chance to try it out. The cookies turned out very well and were fluffy and cake-like. I think they would be perfect for picnics or with your afternoon tea. Next time I think I'll add a little bit more lemon zest to the batter to get a stronger lemony flavor though.

A New Take On Cupcakes

I typically prefer sweet over savory, so I'm not sure what to think about this one...

In spirit of the Super Bowl this weekend, Coccadotts Cake Shop invented chicken wing cupcakes! A cornbread cupcake with bleau cheese frosting and a chicken wing on top.

What will you be eating this Superbowl Sunday?