This and That

Is the weekend almost over already?? Eeesh, where does the time go? And it's AUGUST - wowza.

So, in-case you aren't crossing off the days until my move on your calendar (although I can't see why you wouldn't be - hehe) we are down to 13 days!! WOAH!! We officially have an address now for when we get to our new location, so that is always a plus, and I've taken care of stopping all our services here minus one more that I have to call about tomorrow.

THANK YOU THANK YOU folks who gave me such awesome moving tips!! I will make sure to have my video camera charged, sharpies ready, and my best "I'm the boss - but a nice one" attitude in check!

This morning we went to church, then home to get some stuff done around the house. The hubby cleaned out the garage, and I've been working on getting together all those things that DON'T go with the packers because I would be heartbroken if they were damaged or lost (mainly my pictures, a few letters, etc.) I also have yet another bag of stuff going for Goodwill - this will be trip number 4 I believe!

Yesterday the hubs and the munchkin went to a bbq at a co-workers house. Big kid and I stayed behind because he woke up all snotty and coughing and we didn't want to share the love. BUT I did take full advantage of the "bring a side or dessert" to unload a bunch of stuff in the pantry! I sent brownies, blondies, a unopened bag of tortilla chips, and some fresh salsa. I got major "points" in the clean-out process for all that!

I tried a new recipe for the brownies - it's one I've had on my "to bake" list for awhile, but always seem to fall back on my favorite Ina recipe. But because I didn't have everything for that one, and I DID have everything for this one, I took a chance. The recipe is from the back of the King Arther bag of AP flour and it's labeled "The Best Fudge Brownie Ever" (click on that for the recipe). I was skeptical because I've had some amazing brownies - so to claim these were the BEST ever...well I just wasn't so sure. Sorry for the bad picture...I was in a hurry and it shows.

My review. They were quite tasty - very moist and fudge-y and the chocolate chips in the batter really do add a little something, but I think I still would chose my Ina recipe over this one. But the hubby said they, and the blondies both went over well.

Today we also had a big moment in "kid world". The big kid learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!! We are very proud. He must have been ready because he picked it up like a pro. Well folks - I need to run. The hubs just informed me he is due for a haircut, so I'm going to go help get the little ones to bed, then do that, then curl up with my book. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

I. will. post. today.

That is my mantra for today - I started this post back on Monday - it's now Friday.

Of course my original post was super cute, and I had a few clever nuggets in there, but now it's just too far gone to be very cute...although I may leave some of it here - we shall see.

I made some knock your socks off brownies last night for the hubby to take to work today. I am calling them S'm-oreo's brownies. It's an oreo brownie recipe I have kicked up about 10000 notches. In addition to oreo's, I used chocolate covered graham crackers, and marshmallow fluff - to-die-for. Get ready to drool folks...

I will include the recipe at the end in-case any of you need an insanely good brownie recipe!!

I've been baking a lot for many reasons, A#1 when I need to focus on other things I bake, B#2 it helps me use up some of the butter I need to get rid of, and C#3 its lots of fun to do with my little helpers. Before the brownies we made chocolate chip cookies. I have learned that when it comes to homemade cookie dough, I have no control. I also learned that after giving in and eating said cookie dough - you will walk around for a good while feeling not so hot because sometimes you CAN have too much of a good thing.

Tuesday the lady from the moving company came and surveyed the house to see how much stuff we did indeed have. Just one more step along in this crazy military moving life :). Any of you ladies (or guys too) have any good tips on ways to get your stuff ready for the packers?? A friend of mine gave me the idea to go through your kitchen/bathroom drawers, and put all those little things (pencils, notepads, hair stuff, etc.) into plastic zip-lock bags, that way when they get packed you don't end up with 27 pencils all individually wrapped, along with that stray gum wrapper.

We are now at the 3 week mark! I'm getting really excited about being somewhere new now. Of course it's always tough to say goodbye to those that I'm really close to, but I'm hoping to see some of them again...somewhere down the line! We don't have any other really big news around here...just the move and all that goes with it.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back soon! :) But for now I leave you with this. Warning: if you're watching what you eat, and don't have superhuman willpower don't make these unless you can remove them from your house ASAP.

Sm'oreo Brownies
Adapted from Ina's Oreo Brownies

1 lb butter
1 lb bittersweet chocolate
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
7 large eggs
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp instant coffee
2.5 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup ap flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 pkg oreo cookies
1 pkg chocolate covered graham crackers
1 small jar marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop cookies and place in bowl with 1/4 c. flour - shake to distribute flour. Spray BIG cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter and chocolates in a heavy saucepan until smooth, then let cool slightly
3. Mix together eggs, vanilla, coffee, and sugar
4. Blend in cooled chocolate mixture to egg mixture
5. Mix in remaining 1 c. flour, baking powder and salt. Gently stir in cookies.
6. Pour 1/2 of mixture into pan, then drop fluff by the spoonful onto batter, trying to distribute evenly. Pour the remaining batter on top.
7. Bake for 30 min. Do not over bake. Let cool completely at room temperature, cover, then stick in the fridge overnight to get one amazing brownie!

*this recipe is HUGE it makes 30 big brownies, or 40+ smaller ones. Great for events or a big crowd.