My Favorite Brownie Recipe

We finally have a snow day and campus is closed.  One of my former students said she was bored and would make brownies if only she had a brownie mix.  Well, my friends, this may be a bit old-fashioned but you don't need a brownie mix.  Brownies are fast and easy to make and better than a mix.  Here is my favorite brownie recipe and it makes a nice batch in a 9x13 pan:

1 c. margarine, melted (2 sticks)
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. chocolate chips

Melt margarine and add sugar, mix well.  Add eggs, mix well.  Mix flour, cocoa and baking powder, then add to wet mixture.  Blend in chocolate chips. Pour batter into a 9x13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray (or greased).  Bake 350 degrees for about 30 min.  Sometimes I pour the rest of the bag of chocolate chips on top and let them melt, then spread it and let cool. 

You'll never need another brownie mix.
Enjoy! Ciao!

Taking Care of Ourselves and Our Family

This week has been full of all-night writing sessions.  I couldn't do it if my husband wasn't the most supportive guy on the planet.  But, if you're like me, a few time management coping strategies are helpful.  Here is a list of time-management suggestions:

• Do more than one task at a time
• Have a Plan B
• Say "No" to additional time demands
• Break large jobs down into smaller jobs
• Make a list of your priorities
• Ask your family to help, even young members of the family can and like to help
• Budget your time so that you don't feel overwhelmed
• Leave work in the workplace, don't bring it home (when you are a stay-at-home mom, the lines become blurred, but you need time away from housework too)
• Make 'to-do' lists

Use technology to lighten the load--when I realized that I didn't have to iron everything, my world got better!  My favorite way to iron is to throw it back in the dryer for a few minutes.  My grandmother still irons sheets/pillowcases/handkerchiefs!


Here is a list of strategies for taking care of yourself:

• Give yourself permission to be a less-than-perfect housekeeper
• Allow special time for each child
• Eat nutritionally balanced meals
• Engage in family activities
• Spend time together and make it count
• Interact with your spouse (this benefits both of you)
• Take time for yourself to do something you enjoy
• Engage in a hobby
• Attend social, religious, group meetings
• Exercise

The Creepy Story Behind "Bon Ami"

"Bon Ami" is a flash fiction piece that was just published by Running Out of Ink Literary Journal.  The main character, Devon, was in another story I wrote called "The Covering Up."  Devon was a secondary character in that one, he was definitely on the creepy side, but my fellow readers/writers wanted to know more about him.  So, I wrote this piece that gives us greater insight into Devon and his love interest, Lucy. 

What's interesting about Lucy is that she never speaks or moves on her own in the story...for good reason.  Devon is a bioarcheology student who has been spending way too much time in the lab.  Lucy is always there too.  He fantasizes about her and falls in love with her.  Unfortunately, Lucy can't return his affection because she has been dead for a few million years.  Lucy is the name of the Australopithecus skeleton found in 1974 in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia. 

My family thought the whole thing was a little creepy; Devon didn't seem to have a problem with it though.  By the way, I wrote this on Halloween night, maybe that has something to do with it.  I hope that you enjoy reading it.

http://www.runningoutofink.com/bon_ami.html

Ciao!

The Story Behind the Poem

Here's the story behind my poem that took third place in the Reader's Choice Awards from Northern Liberties Review:

It started out with an idea, a memory really, of a time when I painted signs at the rodeo grounds in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.  One day I was painting the biggest sign on the grandstand.  I had to stand on the chutes in order to reach it.  It was a really hot summer day and I was pregnant with my fourth child.  I was enjoying the quiet, it was afternoon. 

Apparently no one realized I was there, because suddenly someone let a group of horses into the arena!  They came barreling through the chutes I was straddling!  I was holding a can of paint in one hand and a brush in the other.  I was scared; scared of losing my balance, scared of dropping my paint or brush into the fray and having a horse rear up under me, scared of getting trampled to death, etc.  All I could do was stand there, one foot on each side of the chute, trying to stay balanced against the vibrating metal and thundering hooves. 

Inspiration did not come at that point, just perspiration!  But looking back on that moment, what an image it created in my mind.  One that came alive with words and eventually ended up as a poem.  Think about events in your life that are vivid images.  Write them down and see where they take you.

Painting Signs at the Rodeo

Straddling chutes, wild horses run between my legs 

Spotted ponies, wet with acrylic  

Hiding in a plum thicket, a wild bull snorts at the edge 

No clown claims him

Pheasants flap wildly over my head 

While thick-set men in suits watch

Alligator-skin boots impatiently pace 

Ready to take ringed-necks to sporting deaths.