Confession: I Have a LARGE Sweet Tooth

So yeah, this recipe was a happy accident, born out of a major moment of weakness and severe lack of sleep :)  My staff members affectionately refer to them as "Death Brownies" or "Death by Brownie."  They're amazing hot, cold, the next day (IF you can hide one away that long without eating it), and they're WICKED GOOD as part of a brownie sundae.

Seriously though, they're the easiest box brownie hack you'll ever make.  Even easier than adding peanut butter cups (sorry, mom) or Rolos because I don't have to unwrap all those little buggers!

"___________________" BROWNIES

1 box of brownie mix (for a 9"x13" pan) AND all the ingredients it calls for
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1-2 cups mini marshmallows
2 big messy spoonfuls of peanut butter (okay, so I kind of just eyeball it!)
2 normal spoonfuls of powdered sugar (probably about 2 1/2 - 3 Tablespoons)

Preheat your oven as directed on brownie box.  Mix brownies according to directions.  Add the chocolate chips and enough marshmallows so that it seems like there's just enough batter to cover them.  Make sure all the marshmallows are at least coated a little so they don't burn.  Pour batter mix into a greased 9"x13" pan.  Sometimes it's tricky to get the marshmallows spread out.  Place the peanut butter in a small microwavable bowl and heat for 20 seconds or until runny and soft.  Stir in powdered sugar, it's okay if it's a little lumpy.  Microwave for 20 more seconds until it's soft again.  Use a spoon to drizzle/glop the peanut butter into 3 rows the long way and then draw the spoon through back and forth to spread out.  Orrrrrr, you can just glop it on.  It still tastes good :)  Cook for a little less time than directed, for some reason (probably all the sugar) they tend to cook a little faster than regular brownies.

EAT....and don't even THINK about the nutrition facts!!  Sometimes we need to eat for health, sometimes we eat for sanity.  At least, that's what I tell myself regularly. 

O Yummo!

Okay, I don't think I've ever really posted recipes on here before, however, I had to share :)  I LOVE cookies.  Homemade cookies for breakfast is by far the best breakfast in my book!  

Many of you know I have pretty severe GERD and that means I need to avoid chocolate (AHHHH!) to  keep my digestive system happy and the heartburn at bay.  This especially stunk because Chocolate Chip Cookies were one of my most favorite snacks in the universe.   

I didn't want to TOTALLY give up on my favorite snack so I started playing with my recipe....the result?  AWESOME.  Possibly even new favorite cookie quality.  So far they've been received with rave reviews by my friends, resident students, family members, and most importantly *cough*cough* ME!  

Soooooo I thought I might share my creation :)  

Cookies de Yummo 

1 c. (2 sticks) Butter, softened (or 1 each butter & margarine)

3/4 c. White Sugar

3/4 c. Brown Sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2 1/4 c. Flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 c. Oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick Oats, it doesn't matter)

1 1/2 c. Craisins

1 bag or 2 c. White Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375F.

In mixing bowl beat sugars and butter at a high speed until creamed and color lightens.

Scrape down bowl and add eggs and vanilla; beat slightly.

Add flour, salt, baking soda, and oatmeal and mix until well combined.  

Lastly, add craisins and chocolate chips and mix well. 

Drop by spoonfuls or use a scoop* onto ungreased cookie sheets and cook for 8-11 minutes.  Cookies should be lightly golden around edge but with little color in centers.   Let cool on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes before removing from pan.  

 * A #50 scoop yields 5 dozen cookies. 

Rammin' the Roads

A conversation with my little cousin, Noah, at the Fryeburg Fair at the beginning of the month went a little like this: "Elizabeth, how come...you never come visit me at MY house?  How come I always come visit you at YOUR house?"  Oops.  Truth from the mouth of a 4 year old....LOL  I knew I was long overdue for a visit down to my cousins and I had a weekend off coming up so I decided to combine a bunch of appointments and visits into one week-long road trip around Maine and Massachusetts. 

The 966 miles looked a little like this: :)

First off, the visit at the Civiello's was lovely :)  I had a great time with the Noah, James and little Ben (who really isn't so little for only being 2 months old!!) We got to play hide and seek, duck-duck-goose, dinosaurs, puzzles, and read lots of books......not to mention lots of piggy back rides!  Jen, you're amazing....I have no clue how you can do it....I know I definitely didn't have enough arms to take care of 3 little boys by myself!!  O, and it was nice to get to visit with Jen and Gabe, too ;)  And to find someone else to watch the Big Bang Theory with and laugh with :):)  BAZINGA!

Next stop was Boston for an appointment to figure out WHY I was feeling so yucky over the past few months.  Turns out I had a decent case of Mono sometime between last April and now.  My immune system is still recovering and I still have a lot of antibodies left in my system.  YAY for figuring out was wrong!  RIDICULOUS I had to go clear to Boston and have ~15 vials of blood drawn over the past few weeks just to figure it out.....sigh.  PATHETIC that I was so sick at whatever point and didn't even realize it because I'm so used to my body being "off".  O well!

On my way back home to my family I stopped in Skowhegan to visit my friend Matt at his business The Bankery.  GAH!  Pastries to die for!  While I would love to be able to see Matt and enjoy his stuff more often...I'm afraid I'd weigh 500 lbs!  I only ever hear fantastic things about his shop from my students who hail from the Skowhegan area and I will testify myself, if you are headed through there OR don't mind a minor detour on your way south down I-95.....STOP!!!   Your taste buds will love you :)

I got to catch up with so many more friends on this trip too....and got to play Heroscape with my brother a couple times :)  However, as much fun as it was, I was really excited to climb into my own bed on Tuesday night!

Columbus Day Weekend, the Last HURRAH!

Mmmmm I love long weekends, they leave time to recuperate from the day to day, enough minutes to be able to catch up with good friends and to enjoy time with family :)

Fryeburg Fair has always been on of my most favorite parts of Fall and I've been looking forward to going since fair time last year.  I almost skipped out on it this year from being so wiped out with the Katahdin trip (and the idea of two nights in a tent sleeping on the ground REALLY wasn't all that appealing), but at the last minute decided to go.  I mean, who could pass up a day at the fair with the Glidden family (extended version)? 

Saturday was SO hot and SO crowded at the fair....and trying to maneuver the crowds with 2 strollers (4 kiddos 4 and under), and 8 adults is a little tricky.  However!  We had lots of fun, ate lots of fair food and overall had a great time.  :)   My cousin Jen's husband Gabe convinced Jacob they could "team juggle" with the wreath wires Jacob had just purchased in the middle of this HUGE crowd of people everywhere.....well, Jacob miss threw and one of the wires ended up draped over Gabe's head and ear!   At least it wasn't someone else's head!

Sadly there is a distinct lack of pictures of this weekend because I realized around Waterville that I had forgotten my camera and we were far too far from home to turn around to get it.  That means the only pic I had of the weekend is this one I took with my phone:

Tom's Donuts line.....roughly 100 people ahead of me and a ~20 minute wait. COMPLETELY worth it (especially considering I waited closer to 40 minutes last year!)

 

 

 YES, it was soooooooooooooooooo good :)  We had to buy 6 so we had enough for everyone, even little Trey (he's 1) had his first ever donut :)

Tenting wasn't too bad, but because of the insane crowds at the fair we opted to head north on Sunday...unfortunately I was with the two hard core shoppers in my family so it took us a LONG time to get home.  LOL

Monday I got to catch up with my summer bible study ladies!!!!!!  It was SOOOO awesome, I've missed them a LOT!   We started the book of Esther, pretty cool stuff about standing up for what you believe in, even when the world thinks you're crazy.  Like how Queen Vashti refused to be paraded in front of all her husbands drunk friends for them to admire her beauty......hmmm sounds pretty familiar to our society today!!??

Mom and I also picked her grapes on Monday, they tasted soooooo good!   She made jam, was going to try some juice, too.   Megi, Ina, Tayla, and Kassie helped mom, Jacob and I with the pinching of them to get them ready to cook! 

This is the whole crop

Don't these look awesome!?!

Tuesday I got to go spend a FABULOUS afternoon playing scrabble with my favorite Weatherbee family!!   Mary, MamaBea, and Little Gramma were GREAT company and we ate my FAVORITE food (popcorn), hot spiced cider and enjoyed some friendly competition.....MamaBea showed Mary and I up though and took the win!

On my way back up Noh'th Wednesday afternoon the weather was BEAUTIFUL but the trees were prettier.....I treated myself to a ride up the Rt. 11 Scenic Byway and stopped a couple times for some photos....one near a particularly smelly cow field....LOL  *Open door*HOLD BREATH*RuN*snap photos*GAsP*RUN*jumpbackincar!*  :)   God's creation just blows me away....plus I'm so blessed to live in such a GORGEOUS section of the world.

I still have lots of recovery to do....all these piles of stuff to take care of here in regards to my weekend gallivant, but it was worth it, every bit.

Tiramisu and a Couple Friends, Too!

Tonight was a much needed evening of laughing and off-campus-ness. :)  It has seemed recently that I've spent a lot of days/hours cooped up here on campus working on the nitty-gritty and tonight was a welcome change.  Dinner with an old friend and I got to meet a couple new ones, too!  There was lotttttttts of good food, laughing, teasing, under the table kicking (only because the cross table punching was too far to reach), and overall just a wicked evening. :)  O yeah, and there was tiramisu =P

Walking the Quasimodo Walk, Talking the, uh, something something Talk

Well, That was QUITE a weekend.  I'm so tired and sore, yet it was completely worth it. 

**Disclaimer** I am still wicked tired, I've been having a hard time typing all day, so please be forgiving on any typos :)

Friday came and we were all on the road by 3:30PM headed for Twin Pines at the New England Outdoor Center.  WOOHOO for leaving on time, I was SOOO pumped for this!!   The van ran like a champ and we didn't break down (possibly my MOST exciting part of the trip).  The students who attended were able to hang out, get to know each other better, enjoy a weekend at a beautiful lakeside cabin, hike Mt. Katahdin in some of the wort possible weather and really just have a blast!

I guess a quick recap would be:
* Slept about 7 hours total all weekend
* Drove over 6 hours
* Went to bed at 4AM after doing laundry for 6 hours.....but had to investigate why our room was about 100 degrees......someone had turned the radiant heat up to 85.....plus our room had had a dryer running for the past 7 hours.....yeah.
* A bunch of the students jumped into Millinocket Lake at 10 PM on Sept. 30
* I got to see a couple of my friends from high school :)
* Hiked into Chimney Pond with 2 other girls while the rest went all the way to the top.....we hiked in clouds all day
* Auntie made us cookies for the ride back :):):):):):)   <--------BIG HIGHLIGHT!!!
* Tons of laughing and smiles and fun all around


This was one of the only views of the mountain we had all day....it was kind of eerie to hike in the mist all day

This was our whole group at the Roaring Brook ranger station :) 

This was at the Chimney Pond ranger station and made us laugh :)   "RANGER OUTPOST NOT Gift Shop/Snack Bar"

All in all it was a good trip and even though 7 people who hiked to the top had to hike the last 3-4 miles in the dark and with flashlights (and in the pouring rain) they all said it was awesome and they want to do it again :)

I just want to sleep.

HAHA, LOL, and ROFL

O dear.  God has quite a sense of humor, and thankfully my friends do, too!

I packed up my stuff on Friday and headed north to my apartment for the weekend.  I had a wedding to attend on Saturday afternoon and a couple of movie dates with friends to catch.  Yes, one of them was the new Harry Potter :)  (But, I will certainly admit, while the movies are pretty good in their own right, the books are FAR better.)

I had a very long, hot ride up with no air conditioning and was VERY much looking forward to a nice, cool shower to clean up.  I had my arms full of stuff to lug into my apartment and when I opened my back door to drop it off I was dumbfounded.  My apartment was a DISASTER.  Ceiling tiles out, disposable drop cloths covering everything and all my cupboards, the floors had protective stuff on them, too.  AHHH!! I was entirely confused.

I had been told at the beginning of the summer there would be no work done in my apartment this summer (a welcome change from last summer when I had to move 5 times around campus as they were remodeling.....) so to find my apartment in this kind of shape when I'd been planning on staying for 3 days was a bit frustrating.  No one had even called to say they were going to be working on it!

Thankfully, I have a fabulous friend who, even though we had just been planning a movie night, let me sleep in her extra bed all weekend.....even though we ended up with a seven-girl girls night last night and it was a little cramped in the 2 bedroom apartment!

We had a blast, watched the last HP, ate ice cream (Jess and I reminisced about how we ate half of a 3 gallon tub of black raspberry ice cream all by ourselves in the cafeteria last spring....over 2 days :)  (She's not supposed to eat sugar and I'm lactose intolerant LOL)

Overall, it was a great break and mini vacation......now it is back to cleaning and weeding the garden.  Woohoo summer!

e.

Seemingly Contradictory Complexities

How can life be so complex, simple, contradictory, and full of joy all at the same time?  I don’t understand.  It makes my head spin.  

This was one of the most relaxing yet at the same time one of the most stressful weekends in a long time.   I loved having time to myself but wow, what a way to get there!

This prescribed “altered diet” is difficult.  I had not realized how addicted to coffee I had become, not in the daily quota sort of way but more in a when I’m wiped out and need a boost sort of way.  Not being able to access that extra little boost when I need it is hard.  Couple that with no chocolate, trying to avoid fatty foods, and a dairy allergy it is nearly impossible in a college cafeteria.  I feel like I am constantly craving something I can’t identify even if I’m not hungry.  This doesn’t make sense in my head at all.  On a much happier note, so far on day 4 of the new meds for my acid reflux I have had no headaches :)  YAY

Continuing in the contradictory theme…haha   How is it possible to be surrounded by so many people and yet feel so utterly alone at times?  Again, I don’t know.  Maybe it is my introvert-ness and the fact there are so few people that I can spend large chunks of time with without getting tired?  Not that this is making me unfruitful; I have definitely grown and am growing in my quiet times. 

Micah 6:8 has been my heart’s prayer for the past 9 months.  I know it is not attainable on my own as Elizabeth, but only by God through me.  I fail daily.  Hourly.  By the minute and second.  As much as I hate to cast judgment and want to be able to just love those around me, I can’t do it.  Flesh creeps in and sticks its meddling fingers into all of my well-laid plans, continually making a mess of things.  Paul’s Romans 7:15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.  Sigh.  It is so simple to just “Follow Jesus” but so my flesh makes it so complicated in execution!

Thank God for mercy and grace.  And I pray that those are planted in my life so firmly that I can in turn sow seeds of mercy in grace in the lives of people I am in contact with.  

Yes, this post is somewhat scattered.  Oh well. 

Woosh. Momentary lapse back into the old blog habits!

For Today... November 18th, 2009

Outside my window...  Jet black, cold, and stinky…. Pepé la Pew seems to have been out tonight

I am thinking... About how much I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

I am thankful for... my family’s mental health

I am wearing...  socks, rolled up jeans, coral tee with a big flower on the front and my black half-zip pullover…….it would be jammies but I’m on duty tonight

I am remembering...  that I forgot to call my dad last night

I am going...  to clean my room in the morning.  It’s a little messy in here.

I am reading... the scarlet pimpernel still :) I like it a lot so far :) :)

I am hoping...  that the smell in the hallway goes away…I’m sick of the sewer smell and of dumping hot soapy water down the drains!!

On my mind...  not much.   It is pretty flatlined and burnt out right now.  I hate this time of the semester.

From the learning rooms...   Learned about drug diversion among nurses and about the Maine Board of Nursing this afternoon.  Drug diversion is just a fancy way of saying stealing meds from patients, med carts and the hospital. 

Noticing that...  I need to make a worship playlist for itunes…..  

Pondering these words...  “I will be a sanctuary to you”  (paraphrase of Ezekiel 11:16)   O I am so thankful for that.   Sometimes I really need a hug and I’m so thankful for those God-hugs.   I don’t know if it is just me but I LOVE my sanctuary.  My introverted-ness breaks through my carefully maintained protective layer sometimes and just overwhelms me.   I hate it when I can’t just have my decompression time and when I just need somewhere to go away to.  I’m so thankful he is there as my sanctuary everywhere, all the time.   I’d be lost.

From the Kitchen... pizza for supper tonight :)

Around the house... very quiet……but pretty smelly….that sewer smell isn’t so hot

One of my favorite things...   just laying flopped on the floor, couch or bed and talking or just “being” with the people who get my head.

From my photo journal...

My finished card I made for my grandparents :)  kinda rusty but it came out okay.

First real weekend back!

I took this pic the morning Tyler and I left Maine, the sun was coming up just as we drove into Bangor. It is so beautiful!

So far school is going well. My classes all seem like they will be manageable with the exception of my ecology class which could be wicked hard. My Professor wants all of our lab reports to be in the style of a scientific journal article! AAAAHHH!

Between studying and work I haven't really had tons of time to catch up with friends and some I really haven't seen at all. I got my Sunday shift changed! Yay! Now I can still go to Mt. Olive!

This weekend I went for a walk on Saturday morning, I went to the post office, the Salvation Army, and the farmer's stand at the American Legion. It was nice and cool and very relaxing to be doing something besides work/study. Saturday night I went to the street dance with a bunch of friends :) it was wicked fun and there were alot of people there! At the beginning it was all upperclassmen and the Orientation Board people but eventually freshmen came.

Sunday, after church, April, my friend Arielle's older sister, invited me to join them for lunch in her apartment. It was wicked nice and a welcome change from teh cafeteria!

Wow, the new cafeteria is amazing! I can't even explain it other than it is blue with industrial style ceilings and lots of different stations so there are hardly any lines! It is wicked wicked nice!

Well, today I am homeworking and then going with my entomology class tonight to go nighttime bug catching! :) should be fun!

Hugs, Love and miss you all! e.