Making Brownies

Here is the conversation from tonight between Andrew and myself:

A: Now that dinner is over, I want to have something sweet like cake or something.

M(e): Well, I don't have any mixes in the cupboard & I'm not going to the store.

A: But there has to be something...I see pancake mix, can we make something with that.

M: Doubtful. Go grab my computer will you.

A: Here it is mom...what are you searching?

M: Allrecipes to see if there is a brownie mix or cake mix that I have the ingredients in-house to make.

A: My Grandma's Brownies: That one looks good.

M: Nope, requires bar chocolate, I only have cocoa powder...let's keep looking. Here's one, Mmm-good Brownies. I think I have all those ingredients.

A: I'll get the bowl out. I've got the aprons, here's yours mom. Do you need the mixer?

M: Would be nice, but remember we burned it out last week making Christmas cookies. We are really going to have to make it old fashioned...mixing with a spoon.

An hour later....
A: Are they ready to eat....can I eat it now...can I have two! Do we have ingredients to make more?

White Elephant

So, this weekend is the annual Christmas party of local Phi Gamma Tri Deltas and we are suppose to have a White Elephant exchange.

If I recall from watching a version of the King and I...I think it was the one with Jodie Foster...White Elephants are rare and sacred and the sign of power in a monarchy.
According to Wikipedia, a white elephant is an idiom for a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth.

So, with that in mind, how has this tradition become more of a gag-gift of sorts. As I dig into my "treasures" to find the perfect gift, I realize there are many things that are my true White Elephants....a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose......which is why I still have it in my possession. There are some things that I should have brought with me to California last year as the white elephant event there. These items would be meaningful to my real sisters, not my sorority sisters.

Since we did a big "Clean Sweep" when we finished the basement, the collection of "stuff" just hasn't added up yet....I better keep digging!

Allergy-Related Bronchitis

So, on Monday, I head down to the Big Metropolis of New Bremen, Ohio to attend my aunt's funeral, making it an all-in-one day. While at the "after service" luncheon, I start developing a tickle in my throat. By the time I get home around 6 pm, it's now just a little cough or clearing of the throat. By the time I go to bed, I'm hacking up a storm and just miserable.

I get into the doctor Tuesday morning as I don't need to spend another 2 months getting over my allergy-related bronchitis as I did all summer and this week is a busy week on the calendar. I'm at a new doctors office as we had a change in insurance, and not only did he look down my throat, they ran blood work, cultures, swabs down my throat & up my nose, chest x-rays, had a pregnancy test due to x-rays (obviously being OTR wasn't good enough), and provided me with 6 prescriptions. Of course my first comment was: I'm just here for bronchitis; my second comment was: is my insurance covering all this, because I'm not.

Outside of Motrin & the occasional Tylenol PM, I tend not to take drugs, so then I'm at the pharmacist chatting up a storm on the potentials of being overdosed. She assured me, I'd be okay, as two of them are more optional: the inhaler & the Robitussin D, if the symptoms are bad.

I'm use to my other doctor telling me to take Mucinex, a decongestant of choice, & nose spray. But then again, I couldn't kick it this summer for 2 months, maybe the new doctor has a better plan.

So, I get home glad to know it wasn't H1N1, any other flu, didn't have strep (not that my throat hurt), and it was exactly what I thought, allergy-related bronchitis, but I was still trying to deduce what was the initial cause. Did the farmland of America really play around with my seasonal allergies. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm. It had just rained the night before. Was it my brother's dog? Never bothered me before. I personally think it was the manure smell by the cemetery myself. I think that's something I should avoid for all purposes in the future!

Best bonus from all the drugs: when taken in the right sequence, I'm inclined to take a really nice morning nap....my pillow is calling...be back and moving around 10:00 :)