Make it Stop

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head?  I mean, REALLY stuck, like every blank moment is consumed by lyrics or you're thinking of something and realize there's background music so you tune into it and when it comes to the fore front you scream ACK, no, not that again! That's what has been happening to me for the past two weeks.  When I'm on the computer - it's there.  When I'm driving - it's there. When I'm cooking , at work, trying to write  - it's there.

Patsy Cline's Sweet Dreams, Loretta Lynn's Coal Miner's Daughter, Cher's Half Breed and Abba's Dancing Queen, all have taken turns to tilt me over to crazy. And it's not like it's the whole song, it's just the chorus or two or three lines played over and over and OVER again.  Some times I get a break and another singer gets a few moments but that reprieve doesn't last long.

I've had this problem before but not usually this bad.  What I do to counteract this is hum Schubert's Unfinished Symphony #8.  I hear you snickering.  Stop it. Hey, whatever works, right? The thing is,  I hum what was presented in an old Casper the Friendly Ghost cartoon; the section of music you hear when Casper first meets Schubert.  Okay you can laugh now. (I wanted to include the cartoon but it wouldn't let me load the video.   Here's the link.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbDqon8-804&list=PL25B80D600F5715C4 )
Go on , check it out, it's short.  I'll wait.  Hmm hmmm hm hm h  hmm

Oh good you're back. Isn't that a beautiful, catchy tune? It helps to block out the uninvited songs without getting lodged in my brain.

I know you probably have had a song that just won't let go.  What kind of tricks did you do to get rid of it? Tell me - please. Hurry, I hear Aretha singing R-E-S-P-E-C-T and Sly and the Family Stone is right behind with Baby baby baby light my fire.  Boom shaka-laka-laka Boom shaka-laka-laka.    Help!

PS. How many of you remember that particular Casper cartoon?

Whoa - Thirty Years!

It's amazing to think of being with someone for thirty years.  In fact it's longer if you count the seven years we were together before we married. We've had our good and hard times.  Times where you wish it would end and more times you wish it never would.  But that's what marriage is about.  It's about compromise and compassion; overcoming challenges; friendship and understanding, growing together, family and having love, like a silk ribbon woven through the different strands of life, bind it all together.

 Billy, Fred, Don, me, my sister Bonnie and Jeannine

(My  mother made the bouquets and the bride's maids head pieces.)

One of many candids capturing our guests enjoying themselves.

                                          

                  

               With love, to my husband, Don.  Happy 30th anniversary.

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                          And now for something complete different.

You probably know I don't like to cook but I do like to bake goodies.  Debora Dennis, a LIRW member who writes romantic,sexy time travel, brought these delicious brownies to the meeting.  Everyone who tried them really liked them so I'd like to share the recipe with you.  Instead of making the brownies from scratch she got a mix, made that up and went on from step 3.  Hope you enjoy.

~*~Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies~*~

Ingredients...

BROWNIE:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour

COOKIE DOUGH:
3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

DRIZZLE:
1/2 cup semisweet chips
1 teaspoon shortening


Directions

1 Prepare the brownies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray. In a medium glass bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave in short bursts of 30 seconds; stir after each burst and remove from microwave when melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

2 In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk those in too. Mix in melted chocolate. Whisk in the flour and mix just until combined (don't over-mix). Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 25 to 35 minutes. Watch closely and remove from oven when toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.

3 Prepare the cookie dough: In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Mix in milk and vanilla. Mix in flour just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

4 Spread cookie dough over the cooled brownies. Refrigerate until the dough is quite firm. It's okay to speed up the process and place it in the freezer too.

5 If you'd like to add chocolate drizzle on top, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of shortening in the microwave; stir until smooth. Place chocolate into a zip baggie and snip off the corner. Squeeze the bag to drizzle the chocolate on top of each brownie. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips on top, if desired.