B o r i n g Thursday

I am settling into my position here and more and more is being laid on my plate, which is fantastic. By the end of March, I will be fully trained to take over the client, and more than qualified to be hired full-time permanent. I am still a little stressed, but I really enjoy the work, it's something I know well and am very proficient at, and the people here are fantastic. It's a quite place, relaxed, not as high strung as eBay, thank God.

I'm kinda nervous about the scope on Wednesday. Eating has become a real challenge now. We went out for Fish n Chips to celebrate Ash Wednesday and I was having a hard time swallowing the potatoes. I'm thisclose to an all liquid diet at this point. Everytime I hiccup, I feel like someone is driving through me with a sharp knife. Ugh.

The monthly menu planning has been pretty successful! I am really pleased. I am working on March now and have already filled it with some meals, but I am going to have Lindi and Sarah put in their selections too - make it a real family effort. After the initial shopping trip of $200, my weekly shopping has drastically dipped. Plus, it's nice to be able to look at a calendar and know what is being cooked - and I am not the only one cooking, which is lovely.

Sarah is going to her Prom at the end of March and is on the lookout for a beautiful Prom dress. I am so excited for her, I was hoping she would go. I didn't want her to miss out. I can't believe she is going to be 18 in less than a month. Wow.

Oh, and you HAVE to make these brownies. They are AMAZING:

The Ultimate Brownie

The Ultimate Brownie is my absolute favorite brownie. It is tall like a cakey-brownie, but is dense like a fudgy-brownie. I'm sure it will be one of your favorite brownie recipes too. Shout out to Anna from Cookie Madness!

INGREDIENTS:

• 8- 1 ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate
• 1 cup butter
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2-1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; set aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes**. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and salt until just mixed.

Stir in the nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. (Don't overbake.) Cool and frost if desired, but that is not necessary.

** It's not required, but this is when it's very nice to own a stand mixer.