3-Day Weekends and Awesome Brownies

It would be so nice if 3-day weekends were really 4 or 5 days long.  I enjoyed just spending time with my family this weekend, and will miss that now that the work week has begun.
Saturday we all went to a wedding.  I love going to weddings with Hubby.  I get all mushy inside and just enjoy contemplating how wonderful it is to be married to my best friend.  The wedding Mass was beautiful but my favorite part was at the reception, the groom washed the bride's feet.  The groom is quite adorable and he stumbled over his words, then said to his new bride, "I just want you to know I am here always to serve you as Christ came to serve."  And he really meant it.  We are friends with both the bride and the groom and are so very happy for them!
After that, we basically just hung out as a family around our house and pool.
We did get a new vacuum.  Our old one didn't seem to clean as well as it once had and then started to smell like something burning if you had it on for more than 3 or 4 minutes.  So I spent time going room to room vacuuming and  as the new machine is bag-less, I could see exactly what was picked up in each room.  Yuk.  (Except, I felt so much better knowing the carpets were now clean.)  3 girls can generate gobs of hair very easily.
Friday night was the ceremonial "Summer Survival Bag" unveiling.  To mark that event, I made these scrumptious brownies (recipe at end of post).  I made these brownies right for Easter.  I didn't enough vanilla so I used 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 almond extract.  The Imp calls these "crack brownies" because once you've had one, you're addicted and must have more.  We had told the Singer about them and she was skeptical about their allure.  After having them, she too is calling them "crack brownies."  So that is the 'official' name.  I just hope they don't discuss them too openly and give people the wrong idea.  I had to have Hubby hide them so I wouldn't inhale the entire plate.  We doled them out throughout the weekend.  The only drawback is that the recipe is for a scant 8 by 8 inch pan.  I tried altering the recipe for a 9 by 12 pan, but they didn't turn out as wonderful as before.  I might have over-baked them...and this recipe is ruined by that, or some recipes just don't increase well.
The best thing this weekend is I started the puzzle I got for my birthday: a 2000 piece Sistine Chapel puzzle.  Be still my heart.  I'm probably about 1/3 done.  But the more you get done the faster it goes.  I love jigsaw puzzles.  My family knows me well getting this for me.

We watched 'Inception' Sunday night.  It was actually much better than I thought it would be.  People had told me it was similar in style as 'the Matrix' movies.  I'm not a big fan of those.  But while there were some similarities, I thought it was much better.  I'm not a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but he did a nice job.  I think I like him better now that he is a little older.

I just finished reading "The Shack". Quite thought-provoking. I'd recommend it to anyone, but don't approach it like light reading.

The Imp is gearing up for the release of the last Harry Potter movie by rereading books 5, 6 and 7. She'll be on retreat the day it is released (at 12:01 on a Friday morning) but plans to go straight from her retreat to the theater to see it Friday night. And while some parents worry about the true message sent by the Harry Potter series, I'm not that concerned partly because she is just as crazy about the Narnia series and we discuss the symbolism, subliminal messages, etc of most everything she watches. She looked up her summer reading for her AP English course and squealed in delight that one of the two books is "Pride and Prejudice." I believe she can quote entire passages. She originally read the book the summer after 8th grade. She has seen multiple movie renditions (and can tell you which ones stay true to the book in various ways). She's thinking of having a "Pride and Prejudice" party at the end of July watching the 6-hour movie (which she says is best).


Best Brownie Recipe
(originally from allrecipes.com but below is my 'tweaked' version)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs (allow them to come to room temperature)
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 - 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/3 cup hershey's cocoa (I use part regular and part extra dark)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 8-inch pan

In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 c butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs and flavorings. (I use a whisk). Sift together cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Slowing beat dry ingredients in. Spread batter in prepared pan

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

The recipe from allrecipes.com called for a frosting. I've never made it. The brownies are perfect as they are.

Fantastic Birthday

Yesterday was a great birthday.  I had made banana bread with chocolate chips Tuesday night (using Sarah's recipe) so I had the wonderful sweet treat for breakfast.  I had no great plans for the day, so I decided to make my cake from scratch.  I spent Monday and Tuesday searching my recipe books and the web for something "good."  I stumbled across the Hershey's web page and hit the jackpot.  I allowed the family to give me their input, but ultimately, I decided on this deliciously decadent dark chocolate cake.  I was unaware that Hershey's made a dark chocolate cocoa, but won't soon forget it!  Though I absolutely adore chocolate and savor all dark chocolate I eat, the cake seemed a little too chocolate-y even for me.  So I went to my Betty Crocker cook book and made a fluffy (boiled) white icing for the between the two round cakes and covered the whole thing in the superbly wonderful dark chocolate icing published with the cake recipe.  Oh my.  It.  Was.  So.  Delicious.   I think once this cake is gone (and it won't be long in this world) I will dream of it, especially on days I have chocolate cravings.  I'm not sure we'll ever make a different chocolate cake.  Can you tell I really liked it?
In addition to totally enjoying myself making a mess in the kitchen, we ate take-out Chinese out back by the pool.  The weather was so gorgeous.  Not too hot as is often the case having a May birthday and living in Tampa.  There was even a nice breeze.  Having the Singer home from college and both the Singer and the Imp on their "best behavior" falling over themselves to make my birthday great.
We had decided some time ago to celebrate Mother's Day and my birthday on Saturday the 21st.  I was in NC for Mother's Day and with my birthday being mid-week of exam week for the Imp and because I am pretty spoiled when it comes to my birthday a mid-week celebration simply wouldn't be enough fanfare to properly celebrate these two great days.  So part of what made yesterday so wonderful was the anticipation of more to come this Saturday.  Gifts will be given then.
Then it was wonderful to get emails all day telling me of many friends wishing me well on Face book.  And then my parents called and sang Happy Birthday to me.  The day ended with a back rub from my Hubby.  Life is pretty darn good.
I needed a day of just enjoying life.  It seems the last few weeks have been rather stressful.  I went to visit my dermatologist at the end of April (having to see her twice a year after my seriously abnormal results in October).  She removed two questionable moles for inspection.  One came back seriously abnormal, so I was back to the surgeon to have a significant amount of tissue removed from my arm.  The previous surgery was on my arm, but close to the elbow.  This tissue was removed from my triceps area.  I now have a 'divot' in my arm.  Not the end of the world, I realize, but not something someone would choose.  Then two weeks ago, I got to spend the day in the ER with the Imp with severe abdominal pains.  Her CT scan ruled out appendicitis but revealed a "female problem" (she really doesn't want details published on the web).  We've been to a gynecologist and are in a waiting pattern.  The issue is NOT life-threatening nor indicative of any kind of cancer.  The issue could a) resolve itself, b) get better with a course of treatment, c) require surgery, d) indicate a persistent annoying issue, e) indicate a persistent more serious issue.  So that has been weighing heavily on my mind.  The Imp has responded as she does to most of life.  "It doesn't hurt now, so I won't think about it."  She knows she doesn't have to worry when I'm around.  I'll worry enough for both of us.  The waiting is really the hardest part.  We don't know what ultimately will happen because of this, so I can't begin working to make it better.  We return to the gynecologist in mid June and then again 2 months later.  Hopefully by then we'll have a better picture of the issue.  While it is ultimately great that I have a Hubby who doesn't dwell on things or worry, when I'm in the middle of a serious worry-fest it is quite infuriating that he deems the situation not worthy of that kind of reaction.  And it's not that he doesn't worry or rant/rave/cry but that he acts as if I'm crazy/childish/obnoxious for doing those things.  After crying and imagining the worst case scenarios, I'm able to function in front of the Imp and keep it together when others ask about the situation.  Hubby, however, down plays the whole thing partly because he hates to see me distressed.  It's a good thing I have my female friends who sympathize appropriately to help me through this.
I think it's time for another piece of some decadent chocolate cake.

Heartbreak at State Regatta

The Imp and "her" Girls Varsity 8 team went to State competition this weekend.  They'd practiced almost everyday during their Spring Break (some days 2 practices) and had been having morning (6:45 am) practices when school was in session 2 days per week (in addition to their 4-6 pm daily practices after school).  They were all set.  They were expecting to finish mid-pack.  There were 2 7-boat heats and they were hoping to finish in the top 6 but felt confident they'd finish in the top 12.  That was not to be.
After getting up at 4:15 am to leave the house at 5 to get to Sarasota by 6:30 to help rig the boat before the coxswain meeting at 7, the Imp's race was to start at 8:07.  They were in lane 7.  If you've never seen a crew regatta, it takes time for the boats to get into position for a start.  They start with the boat in lane one getting into position, and go forward, so lane 7 is last.  The boats are 17 meters long (that's almost 58 feet) so maneuvering the boats isn't simple.  There are different types of starts based on weather conditions.  They'd been told at the meeting they were having one kind of start unless/until conditions changed.  They were the 2nd heat of the day.  Well, they had a terrible start.  The start had changed to a countdown start (the other start has the official asking each boat if they are ready...the countdown start does not).  The Imp's boat was not in position, and in fact had girls with their oars out of the water.  The start happened before the Imp realized it was going to.  In her and her team's panic, they crossed into lane 6, which caused more panic/frustration.  They finished last in their heat (boats 1-6 all went on to some other race, boat 7 was totally eliminated).  To their credit they finished only 2 seconds behind boat 6 and only 30 seconds behind boat 1 (that's a fairly close heat when all 7 boats finish within 30 seconds).  The girls were crushed.  It broke my heart to see them carrying their boat out of the water with tears streaming down their faces.
But I have to say now, that it was probably a great learning experience for the Imp.  I also have to say that I'm proud of her response to the event.  When the coach called the team around, she immediately said "It's my fault, I didn't get them ready for a good start" Not "The officials are idiots" or "It's unfair" or anything like that.  She saw her role as coxswain to captain her boat and the poor start in her eyes, was a result of poor direction to her team.  She felt even more responsible when she found out that had she simply sat at the start line and not had her team row, she could have gotten a second start.  No one has ever told her that, but she felt responsible.  I gotta be proud of that.  She said her first task today at their team meeting is to get the official rule book so she knows all the rules for the future (that means next year...their season is over).  Like I said, I am proud of her leadership.
Saturday was excruciatingly long.  Their race was over by 8:15 (and their boat out of the water and stowed by 9am) the boys races weren't until 2 and 3 pm.  So the girls had to be supportive of the boys team throughout the day and couldn't even go home and lick their wounds.
As her mom, I wish they'd advanced to the next round, and as her mom, it breaks my heart to see her struggle, suffer, etc.  But as her mom, I'm also glad for this experience.  It's made her stronger and prepared her for lots of other "unfair starts" she'll face in her life that have nothing to do with crew.  And her attitude of "what can I do differently to make this better?" is going to serve her well.  I so understood her sentiment of just wanting to be able to row the race again, even without it meaning anything, just to row it well to finish on a positive note.
The venue in Sarasota is awesome with plans for it becoming better.  Here's a few links about the venue.