Congratulations...

...on being the best potato chips I have ever had.

Bear Lake Pizza Trip

This blog is mostly about food.

It's supposed to be about me and, don't get me wrong, it's a lot about me. I suppose it's a lot about music and my friends. But every decent post I have ever written as revolved around food. (Think: McNuggets challenge) I blame myself a little bit, but I mostly blame Mark Francom. Mark is my roommate and he really loves food. Not in the way that he eats all the time and is morbidly obese. More in the way that one of his favorite pastimes is opening up the phone book to discuss, analyze, and critique the various eating establishments in Cache Valley. This has led to my roommates and I traveling to several different locations to experience the various flavors. On Saturday, we fulfilled our long-awaited date with destiny by eating the gigantic Old Ephraim pizza in Bear Lake.

Instead of just me and my roommates, our group grew to seventeen people divided among four vehicles. Here is a pic of everyone in my car (Emily, Stice, Maddie, Gwen, and me) which was the Party Wagon for sure. These poor people. We were bumping to a lot of great music the entire trip that I almost killed us about four times driving through Logan Canyon. I also ran a stop sign because I was in the middle of a story. I'm you all made it, friends.

Once we arrived in Bear Lake, Maddie and I posed with the Bear. This is good training before eating the Old Ephraim. Act like a Bear. Be the Bear. Eat like a Bear.

The Restaurant. They have raspberries dipped in choc!

Here is the size of the pizza. Twenty-eight inches.

I was immediately accepted into the Bear Lake Pizza Posse.

While we were waiting for the pizza I took the chance to take a picture of all the different tables. Here's Table #1....

And Table #2...

And Table #3. When you run the blog, you get to be in all the pictures and sit at all the tables.

Finally, the pizza arrived. It was one big mamma jamma.

Then, we started eating. And yes, that is a pole between Emily and I.

Two slices in, I went with the Pizza Sandwich method for slice #3.

After meeting the Grease Beast head on and suffering some damages in the process, we finally conquered it.

Before we left, I bid adieu to Brother Bear. He taught me so much in such a short amount of time.

We gave the experience eight thumbs up. You may not be able to tell, but we are sitting on top of that bear statue. We took a LOT of pictures on that thing and, to be honest, some were pretty weird. Too weird for me to put them all up here. If you really want to see them, check Facebook.

If the pizza wasn't enough (and it probably was) we went to LeBeau's after for shakes. There is nothing quite like a raspberry shake from Bear Lake. And you better believe I got one. Because food is what I am all about.

Doubled Down

You've no doubt seen the KFC Double Down commercials. They are all over TV and I think they are sponsoring everything that has to do with the NBA playoffs. Two pieces of chicken, two pieces of bacon, and two slices of cheese. Sounds crazy, but just like the 50 McNugget challenge and Big Mac wraps from McDonald's, the Big Country burrito from Carl's Jr., and anything new from Taco Bell, we had to try it.

Here I am taking the first bite of the Double Down. Most of my roommates went grilled, but I went all-out fried. Overall reaction: A little on the small side for the price. It tastes wonderful. Side effects make you feel like you drank a full glass of grease.

Spence taking a big healthy bite.

Mark avoided the Double Down and ordered the Wednesday special.

Without further ado...here is your new Double Down spokesmodel, my roommate Jake.

On a different note, the next day we said goodbye to my roommate Devin. I made everyone take a roommate picture (with Devin's gf Corey) because I am the emotional sort like that. Good Luck out in the real world Devin! We will miss you!

Soup

Dear Soup,

I owe you an apology.

I am sorry for getting so upset the day I opened my cupboards and realized you were the only food I owned besides cereal and string cheese.

I am sorry for allowing you to sit unused in said cupboard for months while I munched on corn dogs, tuna melts, and Totino's pizza.

Soup, you're better than a tuna melt.

The day I opened you up and let you into my stomach, a whole new world opened up before my eyes.

It was as if we had never before met.

You, me, and Ritz crackers. That is all I need. Your savory flavor satisfies my soul's desires. Each delicious bite brings me closer to my own personal nirvana. When I am with you, every trouble and care evaporates into your bountiful broth.

I'm sorry, soup. I think I'm kinda into you. I will never take you for granted again.

Forever Yours,

Cody

McMardi Gras

WARNING: This blog post is not for the faint of heart or queasy of stomach. This past Saturday night, Jake (my roommate) and I embarked on a challenge. This challenge was epic, It was gigantic. It was really stupid. We ate fifty McDonald's Chicken McNuggets each in one sitting.

The idea came from McDonald's recent promotion of 50 McNuggets for $9.99. While watching the commercial we decided it would be fun to try and eat all fifty. Originally, there were more of us who wanted to try the challenge. In the end, it was just me and Jake. (PS- Thanks to Sarah for sitting through this and taking all the pictures. It takes a real friend to endure watching something like this in person.)

Here are all the McNuggets next to the sauces we ordered. Mark ordered 50 for himself but has ate them sporadically over the past few days. Smart man.

I think this picture marks the beginning of the challenge. Jake seems to be eating a McNugget, while I am texting someone. Guess I got off to a slow start.

Here I am eating McNugget #1. These were simple and carefree times, right here.

Jake was focused and tore into his first two boxes like a madman.

Since we started the challenge at about 1:45 a.m. I called upon my good friend Diet Coke to keep me going through the night. With all the boxes open, you get a good sense here of the mess we got ourselves into.

Jake made his way through the third box by trying out some of the sauces.

This McNugget was probably somewhere between #11-13 for me.

Soon enough, the weight of the challenge began to set in.

And it was not pretty.

After finishing my second box, I started to get my doubts.

I started to get sad, too.

So I decided to do some lunging...

...and stretching...

...and some twists. That seemed to help me get through the thirties.

Meanwhile, Jake's final box had brought him to the couch. Lesson #1 of the McNugget Challenge: The last box will always bring you to the couch (or worse).

Eventually, Jake arrived at McNugget #50 after just an hour into the challenge. (I was somewhere just past halfway at this moment.) On his face you can see the joy, the relief, the regret, the sickness. It's all there.

Here are McNuggets #32-33. I started eating them two at a time to get through the thirties.

Here is Jake, once he finished. A picture is worth a 1,000 words. I don't think I need to say much else.

Me with a mouth full of Nuggets, probably around the end of my fourth box.

Soon enough, the challenge sent me to the couch, as well. It got really late and Sarah went home so there are few pictures of my last box. That is a good thing. That final box was about as low of a moment as I had ever had. Each Nugget tasted like a poisonous sponge doused in grease. I needed three or four bites and a sip of water to get each one down. Somehow, I had to finish.

Finally, at 4:00 in the morning, there was only one McNugget left to eat. #50. That cursed wench. Did I savor it? No, I did not.

Here I sit with my prize. A golden wad of fat and cholesterol. I finished the challenge, and I suppose I feel semi-proud. But not really proud.

The five empty boxes of the finished challenge. My advice to you: DO NOT TRY THE MCNUGGET CHALLENGE!!! EVER!!!

Hey 2010, How You Doin?

All things considered, 2009 was a below-average year seasoned with a few sporadic events of delicious bliss. It was a lot like my trip to Arby's on Thursday. I ordered three junior Roast Beefs and a small curly fry off the dollar menu. I had high hopes for this meal, I really did. But, let me tell you one thing, my friends, the junior Roast Beef is NOT a smaller equally tasty version of the regular roast beef. I'm pretty sure they use a different slab of beef of those sandwiches. Arby sauce couldn't even help that much. But...I still had the curly fries and allthough they were sparse, they tasted amazing. After the dud that was 2008, last year was supposed to be great. I ended up with some great memories, but overall I don't know that I accomplished much. I expected more out of 2009, but the curly fries were definitely few and far between.

So here comes 2010. Brand new year. Brand new decade.

Do I have great, big plans for 2010? Kinda. But, I'm not getting my hopes up either. I won't muddle your minds with most of my resolutions but I will tell you one: Quality Blogging. Quogging.

The Aftermath

Here are the three reasons I have neglected the blogging world for the past five days:

Reason #1: My computer is...once again...not working.

"Wha...?" you say, "Your computer? Not working?" I know, I know, surprise of the century. Sunday night, I tried turning the thing on to check my fantasy scores and it did not turn on at all. I haven't had the time to really figure out what the problem is and I won't get the chance until later today. I can promise you this, if I can't figure out how to fix it, sledgehammer time will come. I'm not sure which one I want to happen more.

Reason #2: A crazy little thing called Thanksgiving food poisoning

One of the highlights of any Howard (my mom's side) family get togethers are my aunt Kritsana's egg rolls. She cooks at least a hundred at every family party and they are typically gone within an hour. They are delicious. They are awesome. They also should not be consumed ten at a time after sitting for two hours in your car. I spent the hours between midnight and four a.m. evacuating all egg rolls from my system. I set a new Cody Titmus record (at least in my adult life) for vomiting (twenty times, kids, twenty) and ended a two year streak of vomit-freeness since the Beto's incident of Winter '07. I didn't make matters much better by chugging VitaminWaters to get my liquids up and throwing my sugar levels way out of wack. So, if I have seemed a bit off the last few days, it is because I have been.

Reason #3: The last two weeks of school and my procrastinating heart

You can sympathize for me on being sick or having computer troubles, but don't feel bad for me on this one. I've put off projects, papers, and presentations for months and they are all coming down on me now. This is the time of year I make two or three trips to the library a day. It is the time of year I get pink eye and carpel tunnel from excess computer use. It is the time of year I am a little bit nicer to my teachers and more-studious classmates. Many times I thrive under the pressure and do great in these last few weeks. Other times, I become irritated and do funny things like, not turn in a final paper worth 30% of my grade. You just never know to expect.

Well, that is the update. If you don't hear from me in the next few days I am either stuck in the library labyrinth, mercilessly beating my computer into pieces, or lying dead in a gutter from eggrollio sugarinfectomyheadocanceritis.

Tuesday Night