Category: Uncategorized

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Wanna Bake a Cake?

Melanie

“Your good friend has just taken a piece of cake out of the garbage and eaten it.  You will probably need this information when you check me into the Betty Crocker Clinic.”
— Miranda, Sex and the City

Do you like chocolate?  Of course you do.  Unless you’re Karen.  Or unAmerican.  So, do I have the cake for you!  Yes, its base is a boxed mix, but it’s doctored with other stuff that makes it so moist and delicious, you won’t have to admit it to anyone.  I never do.  And it’s called . . .

Too Much Chocolate Cake (from allrecipes.com)

  • 1 18.25 oz. box of Devil’s Food Cake mix
  • 1 5.9 oz. instant chocolate pudding mix (you cannot use the sugar-free for this – there’s not as much mix in them because, you know, no sugar)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use the mini ones)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs, and warm water (make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl).  Batter will be thick.  Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Spoon batter into well-greased 12-cup Bundt pan and smooth out (don’t cheat on the size of the pan – this cake rises quite a bit).

4. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the top is spongy and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5.  Cool cake thoroughly in pan before inverting onto serving plate (you can get away with not cooling it all the way; last time I only waited 30 minutes or so because it was getting late and I still needed to glaze it before going to bed).

The original recipe says to dust with powdered sugar.  I’m sure that’s fine, but I prefer . . .

Satiny Chocolate Glaze (also from allrecipes.com)

  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I suppose you could use whatever kind of chocolate you prefer for this part – next time I might try dark chocolate)
  • 3 tablespoons butter (the most recent time I made this, I only had unsalted butter, so I added about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of coarse kosher salt, which made for the best salty-sweet taste)
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, stir chocolate, butter, and corn syrup until smooth and shiny.

2. Stir in vanilla.

3. Drizzle warm glaze over the cake, letting it run down the sides.

Serves however many people you need it to, depending on the size of the slice, of course (I think I served about 16 or so)!

I took this to work this week, and it was gone in no time at all.

You are very welcome.

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No Words

Melanie

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses.
— Dr. Joyce Brothers

There are no words for how much I love these two small people:

Obviously, I’m in Richmond at Nate’s.  I came down around noon today to spend the night here, since it’s been more than a month since I’ve visited, and I needed a family fix.  We went to a Fall Festival (which, when the Conductor asked me if I wanted to go, sounded like “Do you want to go throw a basketball?”  And whether that’s because of the way he talks or my hearing impairment is anybody’s guess!) nearby where the kids played carnival games and jumped in the Bounce House (and I could go on and on about allowing 14-year-old volunteers to be the only people manning the thing and allowing big kids in with the little ones, but I won’t, since no one got hurt) and generally had a great time.

Every time I come to visit, I’m struck by how much they’ve grown and changed, even in the short time since I last saw them.  They are both funny, happy kids, and their thoughtfulness stuns me.   I love to sit on the couch and talk to the Princess.  I forget how it came up, but we were talking about watching a movie and she said, “I don’t have a tv in my room.  Mommy and Daddy have a tv in their room.”  I told her that I don’t have a tv in my bedroom, either, just in the living room.  She immediately said, “What about the news?”

The Conductor gets more outgoing every time I see him.  He was the first one out to greet me when I arrived, and all day, he’s been calling out “Mel-mel?” and then asking me or telling me something.  I nearly always need a translation, but I love that he wants to talk to me so much.

Tonight, because it was a “special” night, the three of us watched Finding Nemo, complete with popcorn, while Nate and Molly went out to dinner.

These are not my children, but they are mine.  I know it when the Princess runs up behind me and slips her little hand into mine, or when the Conductor races down the driveway and into my arms when I get out of the car.  I know it when she spontaneously cuddles up next to me on the couch or when he smiles as I start to sing him the song I made up for him that I’ve been singing to him since he was just a tiny baby.  They’re mine in the way only nieces and nephews can be – and I’m theirs.  Always.

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A Few Things

Melanie

To the dolphin alone nature has given that which the best philosophers seek:  Friendship for no advantage.  Though it has no need of help from any man, it is a genial friend to all and has helped mankind.
— Plutarch

About a month ago, I received a comment on an old post, and I thought I’d share it with you now, since I think it’s interesting and important and (I assume) most people don’t go back and check comments in the archives.  Remember my post with all the dolphin pictures from the beach?  It turns out they’re not like the fish in Richmond or the horses on Long Island, after all.  The person responsible for the dolphin statues commented and said,

I started the project in honor of my mom who lost her battle with cancer.  So to honor her I created these sculptures and I give away all the money to The Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Virginia Aquarium.  Last year we donated $125,000.00 to the LAF and $43,000.00 to the Aquariums Dolphin stranding team.  I know my mom would be proud. I couldn’t save my mom but, I’d like to think these dolphins will help
save other mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers.

I just loved the sculptures; I didn’t realize they did so much good.  The organization is called A Dolphin’s Promise, and you can learn more about it here. Thanks for sharing, Cindy.

On the way back from the batting cages this weekend, we spotted the sign below.  I’m going to let it speak for itself.

(Yes, I’m aware this refers to GHWB, not the current president, but come on.  You know you laughed.)

By the time you read this, David and I will (hopefully) be somewhere on the Jersey Turnpike on our way to Long Island.  I am looking forward to showing him around my old stomping grounds, maybe going to the City on Friday, seeing old friends, and standing up for my friends as they start their new life together.  I love weddings, and I think this one is going to be great.  I hope you all have a great weekend!

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Odds and Ends

Melanie

I believe if we pay attention, all of us occasionally bump into our own futures.
— from Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck

Twelve days, no posts.  Bad blogger.  Here’s what’s new:

1. I’m getting ready to head to Long Island on Thursday to be in a Saturday wedding of my closest friend from law school.  I am really looking forward to it: my friend and her fiance (also a law school classmate) are perfect for each other and I am honored to stand up for them; many friends from school will be there as well; the dress is gorgeous (not that it matters – you wear what she tells you to wear and shut up about it – but it helps); and David’s coming with me.  He was on the fence, 4 weeks ago when I had to RSVP a number, about whether he wanted to go, but one day on the way to work he handed me a letter.  Among other things, it said he wanted to go with me so we could have our first dance.  Have I mentioned that I adore him?   I’m excited for our first road trip together, and I can’t wait to be at a fancy event with him all dressed up and looking handsome.

2. This weekend was my turn to plan a date weekend.  I stressed and stressed over the restaurant for Friday.  I’m not sure why – maybe because he’s not as adventurous an eater as I am, and so I kept finding restaurants I wanted to try but not seeing anything on the menu I thought he would like.  Eventually I settled on J Gilbert’s, and it was lovely.  The food was delicious (he had steak, as I knew he would) and the service was great, and it was a wonderful night.  Saturday, I picked batting cages and mini-golf.  I’m playing softball in a rec league this fall and I needed the batting practice, and I wanted to challenge David at putt putt.  He kept assuring me there was no way I could win, but win I did, by one stroke.  He kept claiming irregularities in the course (which, incidentally, was not very challenging; we’re going to try another place for a rematch), or that I cheated (which I did not, though I did get pretty lucky, including a hole-in-one), but in the end, the result stands.

Afterwards, we went and wandered around Wegman’s, which is the best grocery store ever, and bought some Spanish wine.  Then we changed and went to dinner at Bilbo Baggins in Old Town, and despite good reviews online, was not very good at all.  But I was really in it for the company, which was fantastic as always.  We got ice cream cones for desert and wandered down by the waterfront, just talking, and then headed home.  Yesterday was a little lazy in the morning, but then, since it was a beautiful day, we took a 9-mile bike ride into DC and back.  Then we came back to my place and made dinner while watching the Emmy red carpet on E, football, the Emmys, more football, and the last game at Yankee Stadium.  All in all, it was a great weekend.  I’m always surprised at the way the weekend seems to last longer the more stuff I pack into it.

3.  Back when I was in Boston, my roommate TequilaMary and I took the ferry to Salem.

Everything touristy was closed by the time we got there, so we just walked around and shopped mostly.  But here are some neat photos of the things we saw.  First, the windows at the Witch Museum:

Now, the garden of a mad genius:

He happened to have the largest sunflowers I’ve ever seen growing there as well (that’s TM’s hand, for scaling purposes):

Wandering down the main street, I came across this beautiful bench and, of course, had to take a picture (because it’s purple):

Finally, the pièce de résistance:

Yeah.  That’s a liquor store called The Bunghole.  So.  Awesome.

4.  It’s time to start looking for a new job.  My current appointment ends early next September, which seems like a long time from now, but in this area, and in my field, it really isn’t that long, so I need to get on the ball.  I never even updated my resume after I started this job, so I really am at square one.  I hate this part, job hunting and interviewing.  It’s like this is the time when everyone figures out what a fraud I am and I’ll never work again.  I hate selling myself.  Maybe I’ll just go be a tollbooth operator.  How bad could that be?

5. New tv this week!  As we speak, How I Met Your Mother is on, Heroes is on next, Grey’s Anatomy is Thursday, and over the next month or so, all my favorite shows come back!  Yay!