Conversation

E: Mom! You really need to come see what P did.
(E is my informer)

Me: Ugh. Do I really want to know?

E: Probably not.

Me: Ugh. Am I going to want to spank her?

E: Probably, yeah.

I trudge up the stairs and enter my room, where P has taken her fudge bar, when she knows she is supposed to eat it in the kitchen, to see chocolate on my winter comforter that The Husband took off the bed, but did not put away in the closet.

Me: Ugh. At least I can wash this.

To Do List for Monday

1. Wait for the Leak Detection technician to arrive to find the leak in my shower.

2. Wait for the Auto Glass technician to arrive to replace the windshield in my van.

At least I get to wait in the comfort of my own home.

Black Ops by W.E.B Griffin

Griffin has written several series of novels, most revolving around the military world and I have read nearly all of them (never could get into the Honor Bound series), most more than once. Although filled with details and acronyms that can become confusing, and enough characters that you might need to keep track of them on a 3x5 card (thanks for the tip, Mrs. Houghton, world's greatest English teacher and master sentence diagram-er), each novel is filled with action and suspense.

Do I believe the military really runs this way? Um, I hope not. Do I enjoy the stories Griffin tells? Immensely. (Are you getting tired of this question-answer writing style? Me too.)

The Flirt by Kathleen Tessaro

Until I saw this book on the shelf at Target I had never heard of Kathleen Tessaro, but the vibrant red caught my attention and the simple title drew me to read the blurb on the back and the next thing I knew I was paying for it. (We'll have a discussion at a later date about books and covers and what "they" say.)

And after read the first chapter or two, I almost took it back. The number of times the F-word was used in those first few pages was more than I wanted to deal with. Really, I'm not a prude, but garbage-in-garbage-out, you know and since I'm trying to clean-up my language . . . . but then one of the kids stepped on it and crinkled the pages, so I read on, and the language in the book was only occasionally foul.

The story has a pretty original story-line, following a newly-hired professional flirt - rule #1 absolutely no physical contact. It was light and easy to read, the short chapters moved the story along quickly. Will it make my list of "fabulous books" that I share with others? Probably not.

Will I consider picking up the previous two of Tessaro's novels if I see them on clearance or find them at the library? Sure.

Meredith's Test Kitchen

A few months ago I decided to try making Brownie Cups - brownies as cup cakes - in hopes of avoiding the crispy edges and having only yummy soft brownies. I tried spraying the cup cake pan with baking spray rather than using the paper cups. Disaster. The brownies stuck to the sides and I had to pry them out with a knife, destroying the brownies and scratching my cup cake pans (don't worry, they aren't expensive pans).

Last week I tried again, but this time I made mini cup cakes and used the paper liners. This seemed to work great. I didn't taste them, because I used a milk chocolate brownie mix (yes, I said mix, I've never found a recipe that makes a brownie I like better than the mix), and milk chocolate brownies are just wrong. But they did come out of the papers easily enough.

Next I tried full size cup cakes. I was unsure of how long to cook them, and ended up giving them too much time in the oven. I held the kids off long enough to let the brownie cups cool completely, but then disaster struck again. The papers would not come off. I had to pick and peel and was not able to salvage some of them. Conclusion - you can't let them cool completely, but try to peel the papers too soon and half the brownie sticks to the paper.

I tried again yesterday, thinking I had all the kinks worked out, but I got distracted while making them and swapped the measurements for the oil and water (and very nearly added an extra egg), which made enough of a difference to make the experience useless in terms of learning anything new.

Now I am out of brownie mix. Further experimentation will have to wait until I can get to the store.

And I'm sure you are dying to know why I need to perfect these Brownie Cups. No reason, really, other than to prove that I can. Now if I could show this sort of dedication to fixing dinner.

Into the Woods

On Saturday while M and I where at Market Day, the Husband and the other kids decided to clear a path to the creek that runs beside our house. To this point the house rule has been DO NOT GO INTO THE TREES, DO NOT GO DOWN TO THE WATER. However the Husband decided that this need no longer be the rule and set to making a way for our kids to venture to the water.

Which they did for a while until screams and pounding feet alerted us to an apparent tragedy.

TICK!!! On J's neck," they screamed as they scrambled into the house.

Not to worry. I have completed the Boy Scout First Aid Merit Badge. I know what to do with a tick.

"Credit Card." I demanded. I tried to push the tick out by scraping it with the edge of a credit card. Didn't work. Okay, maybe I'm confused. Maybe the credit card was for bee stings and slivers. On to tweezers, but don't squeeze too hard, pull firmly, but gently . . . okay not working . . . and I'm starting to hyperventilate and get all squeamish.

The husband completed the tick removal and sealed the tick in a plastic bag to be placed in the freezer, just in case we need to have it tested later, while I began searching the other kids for ticks and throwing them into showers and clothing into the laundry.

C calmly waited for his turn in the shower, only to return un-showered with a TICK!!! on his hip. I tried to be the brave mom again, but failed and let The Husband remove the second tick of the day.

J and E have vowed to stay out of the woods for a week. They aren't even going to play outside.

Fine by me, because the previous rule has been reinstated. DO NOT GO INTO THE TREES . . . unless you are wearing a thick layer of bug spray.

"Spring has Sprung" Giveaway from Amy Quarry

I'm too tired to make this into a real post, but I also really want this dress for P so I'm telling you about the Spring has Sprung Giveaway from Amy Quarry, not so you'll enter, cause that would mean I'd have less of a chance of winning, but maybe you could check out her shop on etsy and find something you'd love to have.

So Amy, I've blogged it, twittered it and facebooked it. Does that me I get three chances to win?