June 25, 2009 11:09 P.M.

I just got an email from my madre letting me know when these two clowns, Michael & Peter come home from their missions. I am excited! Mic n' Pitt as they've always been called by me are meeting up at JFK to fly home together. They have been missed. Sunday dinners at my parents place just haven't been as fun as when these two were around. I miss them serenading us to their made up songs on the guitar and piano, putting peanut butter in their belly buttons and squishing their stomach together to make it look like a bum pooing (they would do this for my niece and she would laugh, okay I might have requested it a few times as well) and of course their constant arguing and competetiveness. Mic n' Pitt can't wait to welcome you home!

Tiramisu, Yes Please!

Tiramisu translates to 'pick me up'. Now who wouldn't want a 'pick me up' kind of dessert?! I love this dessert and have ever since I first tried it. I still remember it. We had a foreign Italian student living with us. Pia made it for us and I fell in love. It is creamy and has coffee flavoring. If I was not LDS, I am sure I would be a coffee addict. Over the holidays I found this recipe and have substituted the real coffee for Mormon coffee aka Postum or Pero. Last Sunday I was invited to dinner and asked to bring dessert. I brought this delicious tiramisu and it was a hit, everyone loved it and the bowl came home empty. So here's the recipe for you all to try. I have no doubt you'll be licking the bowl clean!

Tiramisu(A la Americana version)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
3 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
48 NILLA Wafers
1/2 cup brewed strong Coffee, cooled, divided (This is where you substitute for the Mormon coffee, or not, if you live on the wild side.)
2 squares Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate, coarsely grated
1 cup fresh raspberries

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Beat in milk and pudding mixes. Stir in 2 cups Cool Whip.

LINE 2-1/2-qt. bowl with 24 wafers; drizzle with 1/4 cup coffee. Top with 1/2 each pudding mixture and chocolate. Repeat all layers.

TOP with remaining Cool Whip and raspberries. Refrigerate 2 hours. Refrigerate leftovers.

Gianni take me with you, I have SPRING FEVER!

It is official, I have Spring fever! It is in the upper 70's this week and I can't stand the fact that I'm indoors, let alone working. Usually around the end of April I take a trip to some far off land. I have done this for years now. So when I don't have a trip planned, I get a little sad. I know to the rest of you this sounds like I'm a spoiled brat, and I guess I have been spoiled to be able to travel. It does not help my fever that my older brother Gianni has the best summer planned, I am so jealous! He leaves on Friday to Ecaudor for two weeks with a BYU group for his MBA program. He gets back and a week later is off to Hawaii for an internship with the President of BYU-Hawaii. He gets back from that and three days later is off to Europe for another internship in Italy while visiting 10 other countries! I keep asking him if he needs a personal traveling assistant, he just chuckles at me along with the rest of my family because they know I can never sit still for too long. But I am grateful I do get to go to New Jersey to visit family for a week at the end of May. And even though I was born in the Garden state and have been there too many times to count on my hands it should be so fun to hang out with my Aunt Carolina, my grandma and my three cousins. We are already starting to plan a trip to the shore and I am looking into a little trip to Boston perhaps. So in perspective it's not so bad after all. But don't worry that I'm still figuring out what other adventures I can have lined up for the rest of the year!

Easter

Easter without my quirky family traditions would not be Easter. I have had friends join in on the Santamaria Easter before and I am sure they too have wondered why we do what we do. The answer is just because, there is no rhyme or reason behind it. Every year we get together at my Uncle Tito's house(yes that's his name, he is half Italian and wear's a gold chain)and we feast together. There is always ham, chicken, beef, an assortment of salads, breads, desserts, and anything else your tummy desires. Afterwards is the egg hunt. The kids and all of us adults go outside to watch the kids retrieve their eggs. After my cousins make sure that everyone has an equal amount of eggs we take pictures. We take pictures in my uncle's front yard in front of the tree. I don't know why we do this, but we do it every single year and have ever since I can remember. We take pictures of all the men, and then of all the ladies. Then we usually go for a walk around the neighborhood, come back and have dessert and that is Easter with the Santamaria's. This year was no different and next year will be the same.






My cute family minus Jolene, new baby Caia, Michael & Peter. Please note my dad's mustache that he has recently grown. Today I decided he looks like Mario from Nintendo. Dad please shave that ridiculous thing off, mom and I hate it!!

Weekend o' Wedding

So this weekend was my dear friend Cathy's wedding in San Francisco. Here are some pics and the highlights of the trip in a nutshell:



*I successfully packed everything into my carry-on. This is a first for me. I am so proud of becoming a minimalist and I know my lower back is thankful as well!
*I wore a hoodie to the airport and a tank underneath. At the security point the security guard asked me to take off the hoodie. I looked at him and said, "Um that would be awkward." He wouldn't understand the garments hanging out underneath the tank, not attractive. So I was asked to step aside and was felt up by a female(but manly looking) security guard. AWKWARD. I am going to be honest, I was hoping he would feel me up, he was HOT!
*The bride and all of us treated ourselves to pedicures and I was reminded of how much I love them and red toe nails.
*I am amazed that even though I have been to San Francisco many times, I always see new and beautiful places in this great city. If you haven't been to San Fran, make it a must on your travel list. I just love it there. The new place I saw this trip was Los Lobos lookout point, absolutely beautiful.
*Cathy got married in the Oakland temple, I had never been and am grateful I got to see another beautiful temple.
*Ate yummy clam chowder in a bread bowl at the famous Boudins and of course had to buy a loaf of sourdough bread to bring home.
*Last but not least, I found my Spring purse! She is a beauty and the pic I have posted does not do her color justice, it's a fun shade of orange, perfection!

Welcome to Earth Caia Santamaria

I am an auntie again, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I met Caia today and she is a precious bundle of joy! Welcome to earth Caia and welcome to our loud and loving family!

P.S. I guess her name is pronounced (Kai-ya), apparently it's Latin and means rejoice.

Purses and Luggage

What do these two things have in common? They carry all my crap that I seem to have quite a bit of! I absolutely love purses. Over the years I have accumulated too many. One of the reasons is because I have this odd habit. I feel the need to switch out purses with the seasons. I realize this could be an expensive habit, which is why I am a bargain shopper. It is Spring, or so the calender says. I have yet to really feel the Spring rewards this year, but I'm sure it's coming. I have not found my new Spring purse. This weekend I am going to San Francisco for a friends wedding. San Fran has fabulous shopping, so I am hoping to find my new purse. Now for the luggage. I don't know how to pack light when I travel, I never have. All of my friends whom I have traveled with can attest to this. I do try, but I have failed miserably most times. Since I leave tomorrow, my goal is to fit everything into my carry-on luggage. For my birthday my parents gave me this amazing Ogio carry-on piece. My brothers had raved about how much they loved their Ogio carry-on and insisted I should get one since I travel often. I used it in January and ALMOST fit everything into it. The problem was it was winter, and boots and heavy coats take up more space. So my goals this weekend are, one to find my dream Spring purse and two to fit everything into my carry on. I am sure I can manage these two measley tasks!