Retraction - Best. Brownie. Ever.

Stop the presses! Read all about it or what have you. 
I have a retraction to report!
The best Brownie that I can recall was NOT made by my good friend Betty after all!  (Ha, I'm a poet!)

(Now now Betty don’t hide in shame! Seriously, no offense Betty really!
 I still have tons  of love for ya!)

Homemade by my "Ma" and one her besties, (Yes you Junebug!) this brownie while not as tasty as Betty’s  goes much, much deeper than chocolate. 

I was reminded of this special treat while attending my little cousins Daisy induction ceremony this past weekend.  I stood with the rest of the paparazzi snapping photos left and right as the swarm of future Scouts giggled and rehearsed in the corner of the room. 

Finally it was time. 

Forming a straight line in front of their friends and family the girls began to speak. 

As the first syllable was uttered I was taken back.  Slowly I could feel my mouth forming words -I began to join in and recite along with the group: 

On my honor, I will Try:

To serve God and my country,

To help people at all times,

And to live by the Girl Scout Law. 

Filled with unexpected emotion, a tear formed instantaneously.  Those are some powerful words right there huh?!  The crowd erupted in applause as the girls nervously smiled. 

Their newly adorned “Leader” called each little one by name ceremoniously pinning their blue smocks with a near century old emblem solidifying each ones place in history as a Girl Scout Daisy.   

Tender to say the least. 

In a 99 year old organization, Daisies are considered to be the newest chapter of Girl Scouting.  So new that they weren’t around when I was a little tike. 

I began my scouting career as a Brownie with my Mother and Junebug tag teaming as my fearless Troop Leaders.  (Well, maybe not so fearless.  To these ladies, camping in the great outdoors = sleeping on lounge chairs in a toasty warm cabin.  Fending for food = calling the local pizzeria for dinner! My Mother requires electricity for all camp outs.  How else would one appear perfectly quaffed sporting a feathered Farrah Faucet hair-do fully made up at sunrise?  I must say, I’ve inherited this trait.  Never travel without ones own hair-dryer…it’s a must!)

Girl Scouting

Let’s face it, while they’re most famous for one thing,

Ok, maybe two things!

Girl Scouts Invented the Smore!

(Did you know that the first recorded recipe for Smores can be found in the 1927 Girl Scout Tramping and Trailing Handbook? Why the Girl Scouts have a Handbook dedicated to Tramping I'll leave to another time but seriously, Smore inventors?  Kudos to Juliette Low!)

While both the Keeper and I certainly wait with bated breath for cookie season each and every year, Girl Scouting is really about so much more!

“Girl Scouts of the USA is the world’s preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls-all girls-where, in an accepting and nurturing environment, girls build character and skills for success in the real world.  – girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.”

From a trip to 6 Flags to backpacking through Europe, if you have the drive, the opportunities are endless. 

For me Girl Scouting was just plain comfortable.  As a Catholic School student wearing a uniform was nothing new to say the least.  However, come meeting day I couldn’t wait to step into that brown jumper!    (The brownie beanie didin’t work out so well for me given my poofy hair.) Something about that little dress made me feel special. 

Though I didn’t know it at the time, becoming a Brownie was like entering one of the world’s largest sororities.  Looking back, girl scouting was really where I solidified the most successful friendships that I have to this very day. 

I stood silently watching my little cuz’s face -Such a big bright smile with so much pride behind it! 

The girls joined hands and formed a circle, as they stood together swaying they sang….

 

So sweet right?! When all was said and done each looked to their Leader not knowing what to do next.  Without skipping a beat, the newley formed Leader shouted out, “Now who wants cake?”

Like I always say, you can’t go wrong with a good cake and this one was a doozie!  - Hooray!!! 

To help support Girl Scouting and potential Girl Scouts go to http://www.girlscouts.org/support/

~The Keepers Wife

Cutting Corners

No matter what your reasoning might be, cutting corners is considered the deliberate act or notion to perform an incomplete or imperfect job in order to save time and money.  Blah blah blah…

Now don’t get me wrong, cutting corners isn’t always a “bad thing”.  I am asked for ideas on a daily basis for positive ways to cut corners on the job.  In this case, saving money can sometimes outweigh the quality of the product.  

Ya wanna talk about a quality product?  Let's talk about my home made brownies. 
A few years ago, I brought a box of said yummy brownies to a good friend’s home as a dessert for a Superbowl party. 
These were no ordinary brownies, they were made from a secret triple chocolate chunk recipe handed down by my good friend Betty.  ;)

She’s great!  She keeps her recipes organized in this convenient red binder. 

Her brownies are so moist and delicious.  I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more from her in the future! 

The host quickly unveiled my dish.  While deciding which delicious nugget to bite into she asked, “Where are all of the corners?” 

While honing my inner Ina Garten/Martha Stewart, in an effort to make all of the brownies “uniform”, I’d cut all of the corners off.  I’m not OCD at all!  Riiiigght!

(They might not look like anything special, but man do these bad boys pack a

 Scrump-til-icious chocolaty punch.)

The host replied, “Ugh, the corners are my favorite part.”  Followed by a look of disgust on my part and making a snap decision that the host was Clearly ungrateful for the slaving that I’d done, I sarcastically responded with…”well I’ll be sure to leave them on next time.”  Instead of appreciating my beautiful platter of evenly cut morsels of goodness she’d found fault!  (I swear I’m not crazy…well…maybe mildly.  I’m sure she didn’t mean to sound ungrateful at all.)

Fast forward to a few weeks later -while having a discussion with a co-worker regarding my personal life- that’s right I sometimes bring my personal life to work.  When you work as closely and as much as I do, it’s bound to happen, and really…I was having a rough day, so please don’t judge.  J Desperate to hear some inspiring words, I pleaded, “when does it stop being my turn for the $h!t storm? When will things just be easy again?” 

My co-worker replied, “I have a feeling about you…..I believe your happiness is just around the corner.  I mean it, I feel it.”  To which I half heartily smiled not really believing his words of wisdom to be true. 
"Corners" seemed to be popping up out of nowhere and frankly were getting to be quite annoying!  You see, at this point in my life I was “just turning the corner in my career, just turning the corner in my love life, and just that very morning had just turned the corner over a pile of nails leaving me with 2 flat tires.”   (Seriously, I'm not making that up!) Corners were staring to seriously suck!  In my mind, enough was enough!  Like the brownies, I’d just as soon take a sharp knife, cut off all of the corners  in my life and be done with it!   

So where’s all this going?  I did eventually make those tough turns and get around all of those corners I’d been avoiding.  Let’s face it people, sometimes there are sharp turns in life, but if you want to reach your destination, you have to  trudge on! 
I can hear my old Drivers-Ed teacher’s voice ringing in my ears…..take the sharp turns slowly….use your brakes as needed throughout the turn.  Is that the secret?  I don’t know. 

Most recently I found myself again baking some brownies for a friend when I had an epiphany. 

1 – Some people actually enjoy corners.  (as I learned a few years ago at that Superbowl Party.) 

2 - Cutting corners will always bring you full circle, literally - and who wants to be stuck moving in a continuous circle?  How boring would that be? 

Like the old saying goes, maybe it’ truly is “hip to be square!” 

~The Keepers Wife