What kind of fat do you prefer?

We had dinner at our friends’ house the other night. The subject of chocolate chip cookies came up.

I mentioned that I prefer to make mine with margarine, not butter. HORRORS. You should have heard the gasp.

I never did think like this before. It was my sister-in-law’s fault. I used to go to her house and eat her cookies (she’d have about a kabillion dozen in a jar at all times – in case of emergency or my surprise visit). Maybe it’s good they live so far away now — I don’t have a lot of cookie control. But I digress.

What she told me when I asked why her cookies were scrumptious and mine were average was this. Margarine. She used margarine.

Blasphemy.

But, since her cookies were so great, I decided to try. And you know what? They were better. Not as good as hers, but better. So for years now, I’ve been working to rise to her level. And I’m getting close.

But our friends could not believe that the cookies would be better with margarine. Au contraire.

So the next day, with the help of my boys and 2 stray boys that offered their assistance (particularly for the licking of the bowl), I made 2 batches of cookies. One with butter and one with margarine. We packaged them and dropped them off for a taste test.

Of course, we tested them too.

The results? In my immediate family, it was a tie. I was stunned. All the others? Margarine won hands down.

And speaking of fats, there was an article in the NYTimes about pie crusts. I’ve always made mine with a combination of butter and shortening. But it’s a huge debate in the pie community. And the article swears that rendered lard (from a butcher) is the way to go.

It might be awesome. But yuck. I might actually try it one day. If I do, I’ll have to tell myself it’s something else. Seriously.

You deserve a break today.

Kind of on the spur of the moment, we decided to join our friends for a night away with the kids. There’s a great resort about 2 hours from here and it promised to be fun. Restful? Probably not. But fun, yes.

The kids had to go swimming as soon as we got there. The men had pool duty and Melissa and I explored the grounds. And the bar. Seriously, only one drink each (for a total of $26 with tip. Yikes!). Melissa had a Manhattan. She’d never had one before…I think that this might develop into a habit. I, on the other hand, hate to mess up my bourbon with cherries and vermouth. I had a one I’d never tried, Basil Hayden. Not bad at all. Here she is after the drink. She sure looks blurry. You don’t think it’s the photographer, do you?

Here’s the men ready for dinner out with their lovely wives. I really need a real camera. (hint – mother’s day is in 142 days…)

The restaurant had nice ambiance. The family you see here was celebrating a birthday. Sweet. Truthfully, the company was great. The rest of the meal was extremely pedestrian. The food was not warm enough. And it wasn’t anything special. But it sure was pricey. Whatever!

On the way off the Eastern Shore, we stopped in St. Michael’s. Here the boys pose – especially for you.

And here, the final photo – two of the boys felt it necessary to show you their butts. (Click to see details…)

No deep thought for 2 days. No place to be on time. No calls to make. Or answer. It was a really nice break.

Tropical paradise.

These gorgeous Hawaiian flowers were waiting for me when I got home today. (click on photos to see it larger…) Wow. What a wonderful surprise!

Imagine.

This is an actual photo that my friend, I’ll call her Jo, sent me from the Cayman Islands a year or so ago. She and her extended family go over winter break every year. Well, every year that there isn’t a hurricane destroying the island, that is.

This year is no different. They packed up (in record time) and left for paradise.

Please excuse this interruption from the story for a imagination break….

I can see myself on the beach, hear the sounds of seagulls. Taste the mojito. Ahh, the mint. I’m surrounded by everyone I want to see. I look amazing in my bikini. (Hey, I said it was an imagination break – cut me some slack.) The handsome waiter dude with the accent asks me if I’d like another drink. Or would I like him to sunscreen my back…..

Okay, back to reality.

So Jo and her family went to the Caymans. Suddenly, Rose (The youngest daughter – whose name has been changed to protect the innocent) gets sick. A fever of 104. Yikes. Advil and figure skating on television seem to help. But alas, the next day, she’s sicker. Poor little Rose. (We love that kid. Still hoping she’ll marry Davis one day. But I digress.)

At the hospital, it becomes clear that Rose has pneumonia. (The 4th case I know of in a week. Scary.) IV antibiotics. But Jo is convincing and the doc lets Rose rest at the house instead of the hospital. But she has to go back every day for treatment. So sad!

I hear she’s resting and improving. I hope she gets to do some fun things still. I know she’s getting loads of attention and love.

Here’s a little more from me.

Get well soon, Rose!

Saving Blarney

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with friends. Lucky for them, we brought 2 extra boys – so there were 7 all together. You’d think that it would be hard to enjoy adult time with 7 boys between 8 and 11 years old there, wouldn’t you? Yes, you would. But we had a perfect dinner, amazing port, and played the DVD version of Trivial Pursuit. What did the boys do? Check it out.

Saving Blarney (be patient – it’s a huge file – an iMovie, but it’s fun!)

Bleach.

It’s about time. It’s about space…

I loved that show. Lost in Space. I never saw the movie, but heard it was not worth the $7.50. Perhaps not worth the $4.25 rental fee either.

Did you know that more than 150 men have walked in space? How cool is that? But. Only 7 women have spacewalked. Of course, there weren’t women in the space program until 1983. So let’s say half as long. But 7 is a bit less than half of 150, wouldn’t you say?

But the other day on NPR, I found out the real reason. Okay. Here it is. They don’t have the right size spacesuits. Seriously. I’m not kidding. They have medium, large, and extra-large. No small suits.

I’m not a major feminist like Melissa. But just the same, I think women should have opportunities that men have. So maybe, just maybe the government can cut back spending on something (ideas anyone?) and buy some small spacesuits.

While we’re at it, do you think that women have fewer CEO positions because the desks are too big?

Alert the media.

Survey estimates more than 33 million people haven’t even started buying gifts. Please, all you journalists out there. Let’s figure out a way to make sure these people know that Christmas is coming next year. It’s just not fair that they are going to have to suffer like this — all that rushing around and all. A little notice would be nice.