i thought it was only going to last a day or two since i took medicine right away but i was soo wrong.  it started out with me just not feeling well for a few days.  i could tell because my throat always felt dry.  slowly, i started losing my voice.  i had to work black friday, and unfortunately, out of all days, this is when my voice decides to go out.  i was literally almost whispering to customers.  when i tried to talk, my voice would squeak and go out randomly.  by mid day, i had no voice whatsoever.  i was surprised they wouldnt let me go home.  it wasnt even that busy.  bitches.  (jk) =P

throughout the next few days/weeks my sickness turned into a cold, sniffling nose and all, then it turned into a really nasty cough.  a cough that sounded like i had been smoking 5 packs a day since i was born.  my poor neighbors probably woke up many times from my cough attacks during the night.  i felt so bad for jake, too, waking him up every now and then.  now, three weeks later, it hasnt completely gone away yet.  i still have some random cough attacks but it doesnt sound as bad as before.  now it just gets ne to the point where i lose my breath by the end of it.  i only get it a few times a day though.  i really hope it goes away soon.

now jake has gotten sick.  he came down with something different from what i had.  poor guy.  he was gone all night yesterday while robin and i were having our cooking session.  he was a good sport though.  he didnt complain and wasnt forcing us to go home right away.  thanks, bubba.  i really hope you get better soon.  i hate seeing him drowsy and out of it.

we’ve done everthing.  we take medicine regularly, drink fluids,  dress warmly, drink/eat soup many days of the week, drinking hot tea.  this bug sucks…whatever it is that we got.  grr. i just want us both to go back to normal.

i havent learned how to make a bow with 2-3 different ribbons together yet but i am eager to find time to learn.  it looks so elegant!  i’m hoping i can learn within the next week or two since i have been gift wrapping so much.  i am so obsessed with wrapping things that i even asked dino if i can wrap his gifts for him.  i havent done this yet but i wanna wrap all my moms presents for her too.  i LOVE to wrap gifts!

as a side note, i seem to also like collecting wrapping paper.  i just noticed that this year.  any time i see pretty wrapping paper i usually buy it.  sometimes i dont even wanna use it cuz it’s so pretty.  or sometimes i want to buy something to give away so that i can wrap it.  weird.

so if any of you need anything wrapped i will gladly do it for you!  i just hope you choose pretty (and good quality) wrapping paper and want to make a bow out of ribbon – because the overall presentation and look of the gift all done it what excites me. yaay!

i found the recipe through the internet from allrecipes.com.  i read some suggestions and i altered the recipe a bit.  the whole meal (good for 10 ppl) cost about $30.

**photo soon to come**

ingredients:

1 pound dry ziti pasta

1 pound ground beef

2 (24oz each) bottles of classico sauce – tomato & basil

6 ounces of provolone cheese, sliced

14 oz of mozzarella cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, grated (i forgot to do this step)

1 1/2 cups of sour cream (next time i wanna try ricotta cheese, although the sour cream was fine)

small teaspoon of minced garlic

half of an onion, chopped

preparation:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

boil water then add pasta, a pinch of salt, and a bit of cooking oil (about 8 min)

cook ground beef until brown, add chopped onion and minced garlic

-add classico sauce and let simmer 15 minutes

butter 9×13 baking pan with pam (butter spray)

layer as following:

-1/2 of the ziti

-1/3 of the sauce mixture, stir pasta and sauce together

-provolone cheese

-sour cream (put in a ziplock back and snip a corner) or ricotta cheese

-remaining ziti

-1/3 sauce mixture

-mozzarella cheese

-topped with grated parmesan (i forgot this step but it still came out yummy)

cover baking pan in foil and leave in for 30 min or until cheeses are melted.

leave the last third of sauce on the side in case some people want theirs extra saucy

let it sit a few minutes to cool down

**more photos soon to come**

while robin and i cooked in her kitchen, the boys – jake and dino – just waited patiently (thank goodness!) and watched tv.  we didnt think it would take us so long to prepare the meal, and then we had to wait another 30min or so for the dishes to bake.  it was italian/carb night.  we had a full dish of lasagna, courtesy of robin, and a full dish of baked ziti, and a side of store bought garlic bread, along with some delicious wine, some vintage ale — and for jake, water and tea since the poor guy was sick.  dessert consisted of warm cinnabon.  YUMM!

dino got all excited because he wanted us to learn all these great dishes that he likes.  haha..  i guess it’s great to be a man.  we have a page full of dishes & desserts requested by him.  i guess the women will be getting together to learn new dishes while the men simply drink beer & wine and wait patiently for us to finish and later on critique us to help us make our dish better.

my baked ziti looked scrumptious!  i had a feeling while i was preparing it that it might be a little too dry.  i was right.  the flavor was great but it was a bit too dry and everyone agreed.  i should have followed my instincts and made extra sauce on the side in case of this situation.  oops.  from this cooking lesson, i will definitely add a lot more sauce.  other than that i think it came out terrific.   if i were to make this meal for just jake and i, i would probably cut the recipe in half – maybe even a third.  there was so much.  i would also make a side of salad and a few pieces of garlic bread.

i am so glad that we finally got together to do this.  i am also re-inspired to learn all the dishes i like, new dishes i want to try, dishes jake likes, and just learn to be comfortable in the kitchen.  i wanna be that woman who can cook anything, who can throw an awesome party and have delicious food that people will remember and want to know my secret recipe.  maybe i’m shooting a little too high, but hey..who knows?

now all i need is a super cute apron and a cute recipe box.  i have been looking for a few years now but i can’t seem to find the “right one.”  aprons-wise, i’ve found a couple of cute ones, but recipe boxes are so much harder.  i am really picky and it needs to be perfect.  i’m thinking of making one myself.  this baked ziti will be my first recipe in the box.  other than that, i really only now how to cook like 3-4 other dishes.

i also want to get a separate recipe box for baking!  i would love to learn how to make a cake from scratch, frosting from scratch, make cupcakes, make eclairs, make all kinds of desserts!  too bad my family has a history of diabetes, but really, who can resist the sweets?!?!  i have an insane sweet tooth! =P

there’s talk that we might prepare a “feast” during new years, but it’s not definite yet.  i am just happy that we finally got together and did it.  i hope tisay can make it next time and the three of us can get together at least once a month to do this.  i had so much fun!