What's A Peep S'more ?

I'm sure pretty much everyone knows what s'mores are.  If not, educate yourself (like Smalls had to do in the Sandlot) before reading the rest of this post.

Okay ... so a standard s'more has two pieces of graham cracker with chocolate bar mushed between one or two marshmallows (personal preferences include many variations on this basic theme).

Well ... Peep S'mores simply replace the plain marshmallow with a roasted Peep.  And they are delicious!

Our friends, the Summers' family, introduced us to these a while back ... and we have passed on the tasty tradition to several other families along the way.


It might look burnt, but
trust me, that is just the
sugar crystallized.  Tasty!

There is just something that happens when the sugary surface of the Peep crystallizes over the coals of the camp fire ... it's like a creme brulee sort of juxtaposition between the gooey soft marshmallow in the center and the nearly rock-hard Peep shell on the outside.  Then when you smash that between two graham crackers around some chocolate (that should melt fully and quickly if you've done it right) ... oh it's just soooo good!

And as a side note you should know that I hate marshmallows.  I don't eat them plain.  I don't like them in my hot chocolate.  I often avoid candies that include marshmallow.  But I like s'mores ... and I LOVE Peep S'mores!

Song Of The Day:
Okay ... stick with me on this because it's a stretch for the song today.  I am going with "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" by my cousin's a capella group Eclipse.  This is a beautifully spiritual song, so please don't think I am being sacrilegious by using it in this context.  But Peeps are often shaped like birds and you have to keep your eye on them very closely while toasting them or they will fall off into the fire and your s'more will just never be the same.  :)

...

So What's With The Beard?!

I told people it started with "No Shave November" but the truth is that it began a few weeks before that and I just used that yearly ritual as a cover.  Why?  No real reason.  Maybe it's a continuation of the superstitiousness.  Maybe I just wasn't ready to share the truth yet.  Maybe I wasn't really convinced about my reasons.  Maybe I was waiting to start my 2013 blog.

So here's the unimpressive and arguably silly reason behind my lack of shaving the beard for the past 3 months:
The Denver Broncos and their 11-game win streak.

After a 2-3 start I was very low on hope and expectations for my home team.  So, secretly, I made the decision to not shave my beard until the Broncos lost another game, in the ridiculous hopes that this would help turn the season around.  Who knew that they would then win-out in the regular season and earn home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and a first round bye?!

This is very exciting as a fan, but has now created a severe problem.  If the Broncos continue their dominance and go on to win the Super Bowl, I'm theoretically not going to shave until next season ... Basically 8 months from now!  I cannot bring myself to rooting against my team, but I really don't want to have a "wizard" beard all through this next summer!  :)

Song Of The Day:
Writing my other blog was too much work so instead I'll just be adding a song to each daily blog this year.  It will be a sort of theme song for that day ... mostly just a personal memory, but I think you'll enjoy the music nonetheless.

Today's song is Summertime by The Jamies.  You'll almost certainly recognize the chorus immediately, but likely have never heard this version unless you lived in the 1950's.

In honor of our good friends the Summers (Aaron, Britney and their kiddos) who stayed with us the last two days and rang in the new year with some quirky new traditions (epic hide-and-seek in the dark!)