Reflections

I recently returned from my family's annual ski trip.  It was number 15 to be exact.  I think there were a few before then.  Here's proof.

Ever since returning, I've been pretty useless.  Well, I have worked, and I did cook come strawberry pancakes tonight.  But, that's the extent of my productivity this week.  I still need to to unpack!

I'm still dreaming of being there.

Anyhow, here are a few thoughts from the recent trip.  It was a girls trip mostly, but we held our own on the tough stuff.  My younger brother was on a school trip.

I don't have all the visuals that I would like, so you will just have to imagine these...

1.  Ski schools are basically just an obstacle course.  I avoid them at all cost.  It's generally a mass of skiers that are usually extremely slow, and you must weave through them since they are all over the whole mountain, at least the portion where you need to ski.  There is usually one stray student that is out of control and is going way too fast.  Then, there also sometimes is the board instructor that is trying to fancy tricks on his skis.

2.  I'm always thankful that I can tell my right from my left, or at least when I guess, I get it right, when passing someone while skiing.  If you have ever driven with me in a car, and I'm navigating, I can never can tell my right from my left.  It's supposed to be a sign of a balanced brain??

3.  Moguls are those bumps that are on black slopes.  Like I said earlier, the girls held our own and skied down some blacks.  But, these bumps moguls aren't my best friend.  We all did our best to ski around them, some did better than others.  But, let's just say someone has to smooth those out for the other skiers that come after me.

4.  Truly, the best way to do a ski jump is to avoid it completely.  It's safest that way.

5.  There will always be those skiers that are probably skiing out of control doing the pizza down the middle of the cat track.  I don't know that there will ever be a good way to pass them.

6.  Tree hugging has a new meaning.  Sometimes you hug trees when you are slowly going down a black where the snow has all but turned into a skating rink.  You can hug the tree to steady yourself and slow down.

7.  Whether it's just getting older or having a job or knowing the consequences of a bad fall, I've become a more cautious and defensive skier.  Defensive skiing can feel lame, but my sister said it wisely, it's wisdom.  I couldn't agree more.

8.  If they are ever giving away samples of this stuff, don't drink it.  Companies will often give out samples on the ski slopes, but I think peanut butter filled pretzels make a much better post-skiing snack.

Muscle Milk, who wants that?

Go for the peanut butter.

The weekend was wrapped up by celebrating this cutie's birthday.

Totally a successful trip!

Sleet and Blondies

So, we had a bit of a crazy winter storm blow through here last night.  It never dropped below freezing, but the sleet was enough to make evening activities canceled.  I was pumped to have an extra night at home to chill and relax.  But, this is what happens when I get an extra night at home... and it's sleeting and freezing outside...

I bake.

I baked some blondies and took the remaining ones to work today.  Really it was the whole pan minus two-- one for me and one for my roommate.

Little did I know how big of a hit they would be at work.  I've taken goodies there, and my co-workers enjoy them.  But, I've never seen anything go so fast.  I really didn't know what was going on, but by 9 am more than half of these guys were gone out of the break room.

A little later, I was talking to someone and learned that the weekly doughnuts and muffins were being cut, and today was the first day for there to be no doughnuts or muffins to be enjoyed.  The weekly goodies were gone leaving all my doughnut and muffin dependent co-workers without breakfast.  Today the blow was softened by the blondies (thank goodness!  CPAs don't need to starve during busy season!).  I've never had so many 'thank you for bringing the _______' emails than I did today.

Here's the recipe.  It's from my good friend, Eliza.  Take these to work, and you will be a hero.

Blondies

2/3 cup melted butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 2/3 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or if you are me, you'll add a few more!)

Blend together the butter and brown sugar.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Then add the dry ingredients, mixing well.  Finally, add in the chopped nuts and chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes in a 9x13 inch pan.  The blondies will be gooey in the middle-- bake longer to avoid the need for a spoon. :)

This Weekend

Well, I'm sure many of you are thinking about or have possibly even started working on your taxes.  Props to you.  I, on the other hand, have not.  Who wants to think about that after doing everyone else's all day, anyway?

What I do like to think about after work is fun new recipes.  Busy season also makes me think a lot about chocolate; we'll discuss that later.  I've also been craving Italian recently.  Maybe it's comforting after a long day's work or something.  So, in an attempt to satisfy the craving, I purchased a spaghetti squash just planning to enjoy it with my spaghetti sauce.  But, I found a recipe that was a fun and delicious new way to enjoy some spaghetti squash.  The original recipe is found here.  I made a few additions, and it was totally yummy.  I added some caramelized onion and mozzarella cheese.  If you like spaghetti squash, you should definitely try it.

Then, as we all know, baking is therapeutic.  So, I baked some chocolate muffins.  I've been seeing this recipe on Pinterest that looked like something that I would totally enjoy.  So, to satisfy my need to bake, experiment, and eat some chocolate, I made these.

They were hardly cool before I dug in.  It's definitely a keeper recipe!  Here's the original.

I'll be having these for breakfast this week, what will you be having?