CHOCOLATE VOLCANO CAKE
8 x 8 inch pan
350 degree oven

1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cups hot water

Mix first nine ingredients together, spread in pan. Mix brown sugar and cocoa together, sprinkle over top of batter, pour hot water over all, bake for 45 minutes or so. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. (This recipe doubles well — bake in 9 x 13 inch dish.)

“Long Hot Summer” (family photo)

Well, hey. How about some fantabulous books?

“Spellbound” (Union Square Kids, 2022, ages little kids and up, 32 pages, $17.99), written by Jess Townes, illustrated by Jennifer Harney. Let’s talk about sibling rivalry, shall we? It’s real, and it can hurt. Especially when the baby gets you, the big kid, into trouble, and there’s not a dang thing you can do about it. Or when you’re having feelings you don’t quite know what to do with.

Here’s a sweet, funny take on the subject. Willow? Willow is magical and happy until lil baby Rowan comes along. He enchants everyone he meets. Except Willow. She’s on to him. Is he a real wizard? Is Willow an actual witch? Let’s find out. The littles will like this one, and so will their parents. Cool story, and beautiful retro drawings. (Maybe introduce the book the last trimester, before the little nugget comes home to stay.)

Another sweet book with a family theme is “A Gift for Nana,” by one of my favorite author-illustrators, Lane Smith (“It’a a Book,” “It’s a Little Book,” and his titles with the irrepressible Jon Scieszka). (Random House Studio, New York, 2022, design by Molly Leach, $18.99.) Children, of course, love books where the heroes get to do things kids usually don’t — float around the ocean in a giant peach, live for awhile in a museum, do all kinds of cool magic with their friends. In “A Gift for Nana,” a little rabbit gets to travel around through the forest, across the water, and near a volcano, in search of the perfect gift for his grandmother. A crow gives him directions and off he goes on this big quest. Great story and art.

Ready for a vacation? How about a “Vampire Vacation”? (Written by Laura Lavoie, with art by Micah Player; Viking, an Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, New York; 2022; $17.99.) Now, if you were a vampire, would you rather go back to Transylvania? Again? No. You’d rather go to the beach, swim and hang out (no pun intended) with your friends. So Fang, an enterprising young vampire, makes his case.

“Nonsense,” said Papa, “It will be fun! We’ll tour Dracula’s castle, visit the House of No Mirrors, dine at a five-star blood bank…”

But Fang has some another plan up his cape… sleeve… and he hopes it will work. Delightful art, great details, and hilarious story. Sometimes families… even vampire families… need to accommodate each other.

Bon appetit, baby vampires! Happy summer, happy reading.

WM

Well, it was the holidays, we ate like piggies, but who am I kidding, it’s always the holidays over here. Birthdays, New Year’s, Groundhog Day, I’m just saying. For belated New Year’s Eve, friends and I are planning to make shortribs, cornbread with honey and butter, Hummingbird Cake, and Hoppin’ John for good luck for the year… HERE, make some:

• Black-eyed peas
• Olive oil
• Onion (I’ve been using a lot of shallots lately, so sharp and good)
• Garlic
• Salt/pepper/hot sauce

Soak, cook and partially drain black-eyed peas. Carmelize onion and garlic in olive (or vegetable) oil and add to peas; add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. I like Tiger Sauce or bento sauce the best.

I’ve never made a Hummingbird Cake, but I like a good spice cake, especially when fruit is added. But we may stick with Chocolate Volcano Cake because I like how everyone acts like it’s the first time they’ve ever seen such a concoction, whenever I make it. I mean, I make this cake a lot, and have since I was a teenager. It’s just that kind of recipe — fun, yummy and wow it’s molten chocolate. Like, if your kid needs to do a project for the school science fair, instead of building a volcano, you and the kid should make this cake instead and bribe the judges. Pretty sure they’ll earn a blue ribbon.

Also, any excuse to break out the creme fraiche, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, y’know? Lol.

So I will let you know how BNYE (belated New Year’s Eve) goes.

My friend and I have been cooking for each other a lot, because it gets boring just cooking for yourself. She does a dynamite Ribollita and also makes superb breads. And jams. Fancy, individually-made salads. oh my god, her frittatas… Also a Key Lime Pie that is so exquisite it brings a tear to the eye. I start thinking crazy thoughts like, I don’t need any other foods, just this pie, more pie, please?

Only she left town For the Holidays and now I’m just eating my own cooking and I don’t make the best pies, pies are frickin’ tricky to make.

So I’m sad.

But this turned out perfectly:

ORANGE CHICKEN WHICH IS WAY BETTER THAN THE PANDA EXPRESS VERSION

I found this recipe on Facebook (?? what even is up with Facebook, with all the TikToks and recipes and help wanted ads?? It’s like they’re tailoring it specifically to me. Oh… wait…)

Where was I? Yeah. We order too much orange chicken from fast food places, and it’s always random bits and hunks of I don’t even know what kind of mystery meat.

Step up your game, Panda Express and everywhere else.

But this recipe? Easy-peasy orange squeezy.

1. Dust off the crockpot
2. Try not to think about the faulty crockpot that kills the dad is “This Is Us,” or as I call it, “This Is Just Manipulating My Emotions”
3. Pour in some olive or vegetable oil (I don’t really measure thing anymore, sorry, so use your best judgment. Not too much, not too little) and turn on high to heat.
4. Shake cornstarch in a flat dish and dredge boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used four) and add to slow cooker. Let cook for a few minutes on each side, then…
5. Around the edges, drizzle in soy sauce. Pour in barbecue sauce (Stubb’s!). Spoon in about half of a 16-ounce jar of orange marmalade.
6. Cook on high for a couple of hours and low for a couple more hours until the chicken pulls apart easily.
7. Serve as sandwiches or over rice.

It’s very tasty, inexpensive and perfect for lunches/leftovers.

Next up:

Since my friends and I cook for each other, and I still cook for Steve (remember him? morehockeylesswar? He’s Chili AF!) and the kids, and the kids’ friends, when they’re around, because, well. That’s life. I’ll always cook for them until I get sick of it, which I hope I never do. They cook for me, too, so this works out nicely. Love love love.

Anyway, we do a lot of trading of casserole dishes, Tupperware, bottles of wine, six-packs of Two Town Hard Cider, and Ball and Kerr jars. I found these recipes and I’m posting them here since they sound just delicious.

OK, babies, bon appetit! Don’t forget to eat/cook/write when you can!

WM

Fiesta Salsa (courtesy of Ball Jars)

For two pints, you will need:

2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 6 medium; will yield about 4 1/2 cups finely diced)

3 tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup Ball Fiesta Salsa mix (mix well before measuring) or use minced white onion, jalapeno, salt, pepper, sugar and lime juice like I do; skip the vinegar if you sub lime)

Combine ingredients. Don’t go all crazy. (PS yes they included destructions for how to can the salsa, which I realized i just turned into Pico de Gallo. But I don’t can. I either make stuff fresh or I freeze (when possible — jam, for example).

Next…

Honey Orange Slices

(Yields about three half-pints)

4 large oranges, sliced, then cut in half, end pieces discarded

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups honey

Juice from one large lemon, plus zest

3 sticks cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons whole allspice

Put oranges in a saucepan, add water to cover; bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer (about 30 minutes) until peel is tender; drain.

Combine sugar/honey/lemon juice; bring to boil.

Add orange slices and spices (tied in cheesecloth bag. Simmer about 40 minutes.

Pack orange slices in jars; pour liquid over. Cool, then refrigerate. Give them to your friends and see how impressed they are.

happy birthday, blog :) seven years today.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

I was at my girlfriend A’s house. I brought my coffee cup with me and banged it down on her counter. We needed to talk PTA stuff — I think we were planning a carnival. She told me later that the way I put down my mug convinced her that we were meant to be friends. (i miss her — moved across town and never see anyone anymore.) She threw out the old coffee, made a fresh pot, poured me a cup and then said Oh-you-have-to-see-this! She took me back into her office, and there on her screen was Amalah Not Too Sweet, with pictures of cherries for the header. (When I think back to my early days of blogging, Not Too Sweet often pops into my head, with images of Chocolate Volcano Cake, cute babies, funny stories, advice columns…)

Such a funny girl, Amalah. And my friend A. She knew I was staying home with the kids and a little restless. I told Steve I wanted to start writing a blog, so he built this one. Then he built one for himself, and another one, and another one, and then, why the hell not? This one.

Then I read (not in this order), Rockstar Mommy, Yvonne, Zoot, Mir, Heather, and later, Jon. (A sample “daily affirmation” from Jon: “Learn from your detractors. And then block their negativity. And their IP address.”) Later on, I added Laura (i love that post, by the way), Vixen and Nan, and… Koreen.

Now we’re all getting a little discouraged about blogging. No one reads The Blogs that much anymore (see: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr). They’re alright, and I know a lot of people liked the “closed garden” aspect, but I don’t find them as satisfying as I do blogging. But I’m also writing fiction and non-fiction, as always, and doing marketing for those projects, so that is where I throw my angst, not at blogging.

Also it’s a little weird out in the Internet waters, nowadays. Everyone’s figuring out how to handle it, with the kids getting bigger and wanting privacy. (Many of us had little kids when we started this out — my daughter was 5 and my son was 2, how is that possible? They’re 12 and 9 now, whoa.) Jon and Dooce are legally separated. Still blogging. One of my favorite blogs belongs to the ex-wife of one of the best bosses I ever worked for. Connections. Go figure.

So de-lurk, already. I still get a fair amount of traffic but hardly any comments. Go anon if you’d like, I don’t mind ;) I’d like to know who’s out there still, or finding the blog for the first time.

Happy Valentine’s Day! And happy birthday, blog. here’s to many years ahead.

xo

wm

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

hey, dear Blog,

happy birthday, blog. happy happy wacky mommy blog that doesn’t pay the bills but keeps me writing. on Valentine’s Day we will celebrate seven years together. as my Dear Late Granny would say, Seems like seventy. so let’s have some fun, my blog, every day this month. (or as close to it as we can, what say?)

you go first.

kidding.

let’s start with a few random posts, based on what people are looking for in their searches:

1) chocolate volcano cake. this recipe is my ma’s, but I stole it and now it’s mine. and now it’s yours. I have heard that women have been proposed to once they made this cake for those special men in their lives.

2) skinny bitch in the kitch. i didn’t write it, but i appreciate the sass behind the phrase.

3) dolphin sex (what?)

4) wacky mommy sex

5) rockstar mommy (my girl, not yours. sorry, that’s all i’m gonna say ;) mine mine mine)

and now five of my favorites:

1) i had a bad year in 1997 (one of the hardest things i ever had to write)

2) & 3) two columns about racism: one and two

4) Happy VD! Clap, everybody, clap!

and…

one of my very, very favorites:

5) Thirteen Ways to Get It Up

come back tomorrow and we’ll play some more, ‘k?

xo

nancy

skinny bitch recipes
chili with wine
rockstar mommy
funny family mottos
wacky mommy
wacky sex
chili wine
chocolate volcano cake
rockstar mommy blog
skinny bitch in the kitch recipes

yes, am skinny bitch, bitches! welcome! happy New Year! happy Year of the Dragon! hope your holidays were merry and bright, and that the fates allowed everything u wanted ’em to.

— wm

(Photo by Steve Rawley.) (Everyone in our neighborhood went crazy with the big ornaments on their outdoor trees and shrubbery this year. Also those oversized, fake wrapped “presents.” Whoa. We put up a few lights. They looked nice. The end.)

* You ever send a note to a friend, then realize it was their work e-mail and pray like heck that it didn’t go into a general delivery mailbox? Because it was personal?

* Uh, no. That never ever happens. Whoops. (Edited to say: It all turned out okey-dokey. Thank the e-mail gods.)

* I usually don’t get all that into the holidays. I want to, but I hold back. Or I give up. They can be a let-down, and also expensive. A costly bummer, some years. Also, the kids and I often have differing opinions about how to make a holiday “successful.” I don’t want to give away any family secrets or anything, but their version? Much more expensive than mine.

* This year I kinda have the holiday spirit. Weird, right? Nice and weird. Did a little shopping yesterday, we’re figuring out menus for Christmas Eve and Day, and I’d like to do something special for New Year’s Eve, too.

* My girlfriend N signed me up for a recipe chain-mail. I’m not crazy about chain-mails, but you know I love recipes! I’ve done them in the past, without much luck. But this time? Score. (ps I’m sending around the Chocolate Volcano Cake for my recipe.) I’ll share them with the Internets, so you can play along at home:

Cucumber Salad

1 cucumber
2 or 3 green onions
mayonnaise
sweetener (I use Splenda) or sugar
vinegar

1st: put 2 tbsp mayo in a mixing bowl, add 1 or 2 tsp. of Splenda or sugar and mix up thoroughly
2nd: add about a tsp vinegar and blend well, then add another tsp of vinegar and again blend
3rd: slice cucumber very thinly and mix into sauce
4th: clean and cut 2 or 3 green onions (only just into the green part) add to the cucumbers and
refrigerate for an hour or so.

You now have a delicious, refreshing salad all ready to enjoy!

Fish Tacos and Cilantro Coleslaw

25 min | 5 min prep
4 tacos

* 4 frozen battered fish fillets
* 4 8-inch flour tortillas
* 1/4-1/3 head green cabbage
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 green onion, sliced or minced
* 1 teaspoon chopped jalapeno or serrano chili , to taste
* 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed or 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
* salt and pepper, to taste

1. Bake fish fillets according to package directions.
2. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and place them in the oven to heat.
3. Or heat them at the last minute in a microwave in plastic wrap.
4. Shred or chop the cabbage.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the cabbage with all the remaining ingredients.
6. Cut each hot fish fillet into 6-8 pieces, then pile into a hot tortilla with lots of slaw.

and… last but certainly not least:

Mackinaw Island Fudge

All the way from Michigan! “It’s a good one,” according to the nice woman who e-ed this to me.

4 cups of sugar, 1 cup milk (whole works best), 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 cup butter, 1 & 1/2 cup mini marshmallows, 12 oz. chocolate stars candy (I use Brachs), 12 oz. chocolate chips, 12 oz unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix sugar, milk, and vanilla in a pan. Add butter and bring mixture to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add marshmallows. Then add chocolate a little at a time, stirring constantly so you get a smooth batter… add nuts if you wish… line a 9×13 glass pan with parchment paper for easy lifting… pour mixture onto paper… chill thoroughly…. cut into whatever size pieces you wish and enjoy!

And now, for the free advertising for Kroger. (Ralph’s, Fred Meyer, King Soopers, etc.) (Please see disclaimer.) They’ve re-worked their Private Selection line, and sent us coupons for free samples. It’s pretty good. We tried the Pizza Margherita. It was a little watery because they used cherry tomatoes, but other than that, good, with pesto and mozzarella balls. Crust was crispy, thin and tasty. If they work on the recipe a little more, they’ll nail it. We also gobbled up the appetizers — a spinach pesto puff, mushroom phyllo triangle and feta and sun-dried tomato phyllo roll. These were from the “Mediterranean-Inspired” hors d’oeuvres collection. OK, I like salty snacks, and these had just the right amount of flavor, salt, crunch and grease. They have a whole new line of desserts, too — blueberry peach panna cotta, pineapple upside down cake… yum.

Bon appetit!

— wm

* Steve is off grocery shopping and stopping by the gardening place. We have these fuss-fussy Granny Smith apple trees. They had such bad apple scab last year that all they sent forth was wizened little blackened apples. Well, screw that. If I’m going to have fruit trees, Eve, gimme some fruit. So he will fix them. I hope. We do a nice vegetable garden, and have grown all sorts of vegetables, berries and herbs over the years, but we aren’t big experts on fruit trees. I’ve heard they’re all kind of a pain in the ass, from plums to apples to cherries. True or false, Internets? Please advise.

* My California friends seem to have no problems with their lemon trees, though, go figure. Will keep you posted…

* Yes, our raised garden beds are now torn completely apart and sitting there.

* No, I’m not gardening today, maybe tomorrow.

* Also the deck guys are coming by again (they started yesterday) cuz the deck is a mess. Clean/sand/pound rusty nails down/stain/finish/entertain this summer! I wanted to do it ourselves but god do I hate sanding. I don’t mind the rest of it.

* still revising The Book. I’m at 73,000 words. No, i’m not being fuss-fussy, like the precious-wecious little apple trees but damn, the last time I worked on this manuscript, i left it a mess. I’m having to make it up to my book now. Argh. I may have made this analogy before, so forgive me if you’ve already heard this, but I tore it apart like a busting-at-the-seams rag doll, then stitched it back together with the arms, legs, torso and head all sewed in the wrong spots. Then I couldn’t figure out how to rip it apart again and stitch it up right. Then I wept.

* But when I re-opened the file, a month ago or so, there it all was! and it was as if it came with its own pattern. Oh, you didn’t see the pattern before? Here it is. What a relief for the rest of my life.

* Re-reading Stephen King’s “On Writing.” That one always inspires me. Especially the part about his wife, Tabby, salvaging “Carrie” from his wastebasket and telling him not to give up on it. And then he sold it. And then he sold the paperback rights and they didn’t have to live in their crappy little apartment anymore, and he quit his crappy day job and she quit Dunkin’ Donuts and they could finally afford medicine and food for their kids, and godDAMN that is such good writing. I could read that book five hundred times and I would find something new in it every time, and I would still weep at the part where they Hit It Rich ev’ry fucking time. Stephen and Tabby, if you are reading this, I love you. Hittin’ It Rich couldn’t have happened to two nicer people than you two. Love, Wacky Mommy

* Listening to “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” my dad’s favorite album. And yes, I do have a dark sense of humor, since we all know he committed suicide. By jumping from the Fremont Bridge. But it’s a dark part that I’m re-writing, in my book, and this CD comforts me. (gives big sigh and turns the page.)

* made homemade granola for breakfast this morning. I could have sworn that I used brown sugar and maple syrup when I made the original recipe (which I improvised courtesy of Martha Stewart and one of the parents at my old school). I mean, I do have a sweet tooth and all, but that’s a little much, even for me. However. This morning I did not use brown sugar, and you will notice the recipe doesn’t call for brown sugar, so who the hell knows. It turned out great and that’s all I care about. Ate it up with dark cherry yogurt.

* Now I need another cup of coffee. I could drink the hell out of another cup of coffee and I will.

* i want to write this down before i forget, cuz it was such a good dinner: Tuscan white beans, with sauteed garlic and onions, cherry tomatoes and fresh thyme (thank you Debi and Gabriele, you give me food inspiration); homemade mac and cheese (why have i never written this one up here? I can’t find a link to it, if there is one) — secret ingredients: little shell pasta, Swiss cheese, sharp cheddar and parmesan, with bread crumbs sprinkled on top. I baked it in a roasting pan and not a glass pan; it was so crispy, creamy, melty and good; homemade whole wheat bread (i don’t use barley malt, though, i use either honey or white sugar); leftover homemade Best Chocolate Cake (thank you, Steven) (it was Wacky Boy’s 9th birthday this week); and (to balance out the cake, perhaps?) kale chips.

* OK back to the cake for a minute. Just search for “cake” on my blog and Steve’s, and you will come up with so many g.d. cake recipes. When he finished the cake, the four of us did this whole “memory lane” thing. Theme: Cakes and Cookies We Have Requested for Birthdays, A Retrospective. (Which was best? Which is your favorite? Was it the oversized chocolate chip cooky, baked on a pizza pan with a beach scene, complete with palm tree, frosted on top? Was it… the Volcano Cake? With whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, which is better? Was it the chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling, with miniature chocolate chips melted inside? And chocolate frosting? Was it… the Family Poundcake? How about just plain old Mexican Wedding Cakes? The list goes on and on and on.

* I don’t think we’ve run this one before, though: Betty Crocker’s Best Chocolate Cake and that’s the one he made. It’s our latest favorite. (“You sweet talker/Betty Crocker…”) But being Steve, he did some crazy variation on it — said he let the chocolate cool too much, I think it was? — and it made the cake taste like it had melted chocolate chips in it or something. Shot through with little crispy bites of chocolate, and this super-rich, tender cake. Man, he can bake. I’m a good baker, too, it’s a problem over here. Wacky Girl decorated it with chocolate-covered marshmallow bunnies, blue Peeps bunnies (kid you not), jelly beans and malt ball robin eggs.

* OK, now to get your taste buds confused. Kale chips are easy and good. I rinsed the leaves, cut off the ends of the stalks, and roasted them with olive oil, sea salt and pepper at 425 degrees. When they looked halfway done, i turned them, then sprinkled them with more salt and pepper, and drizzled more oil on them. They were like… heaven. So good. Like crunchy, salty potato chips. Nice contrast with the mac and cheese.

* Now I’m listening to “Tunnel of Love” and as far as I’m concerned it is just as twisted as “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” (“I got a picture in a locket/that says baby I love you” — Bruce Springsteen) For real. At least I’m not listening to “Nebraska,” i mean, that would be a bad sign.

* This post has taken waaaaaaaaaay too long to write, i’m halfway through my coffee now, gotta go, Spocky and get back to The Book. (I’ve already started the next one, too. To save confusion, I called the file, NEW GODDAMN BOOK. hahaha.)

* best line of the day from my re-write: “I will fucking firebomb the goddamn police station, do you understand me? I have two little children over here.”

not much of it around here. traffic, that is. because i don’t feel like baring all anymore, that’s right. and i never really bared it all to begin with — no cute pix of the kids, no “tell-all” marriage stuff, no trips to the Nervous Hospital, none of that.

want to know what brings ’em in? they’re searching for:

chocolate volcano cake
sex
i hate volunteering in class
rockstar mommy sez goodbye
live nude girls unite
Mayor Sam Adams
i’m freezing my baguettes off
geedee chickens and their mamas
lice here questions?

omg. why do i blog, again? cuz i forget. have a great great awesome night, y’all. all 3 of you.

— wm

ps if i was searching for Broccoli Casserole? I would land here and i would be happy. (love you bossy.)

From my desk calendar, Aug. 21-22, 2010: “I went to college for this?”

Hahahahaha… wait. That’s not funny. But I am. I am your Daily Bitch. Only lately it’s not daily, is it, you poor lil deprived things. Sorry. I’m busy! Watering the yard takes up a lot of time.

I started my new job. My boss is great. Generally I don’t blog about work because, you know. Dooce. (Or as I like to call her, “My little Doocey-woocey.”) You know her, the founder of the expression: “Be ye not so stupid.” Well, who’s laughing now, Internet? Dooce writes about work all day long.

So. With that little disclaimer out of the way… My boss is v. cool. She is Cool 7.0, or possibly Cool 10.0 and I am looking forward to this school year. As my old roommate used to say, “If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s me.” My response, “No, me!” Him: “Me!!!!” etc.

Also I found a ton of new books (including a crateful donated by my Wacky Kids) and I spent the whole day getting the books into the database, bar-coded, with fresh jackets and their little ID stamps, “Property of Wacky Mommy’s New School.” And a fair amount of tape was involved. Mostly I went into liberry work so I can play with tape, stampers and kids all day. Not in that order. The stampers probably are the most critical component for me. Ha! I jest! I’m in it for the love bucks from the students, pure and simple.

So. What’s up, Internet? How’s my girls? And guy? What you may or may not know about me is that I take copious notes. I have hypergraphia, I’m pretty sure. My notepad of choice: My left hand.

Right now it says:

hamster fud
charge Netbook
prom. note
checkbook

That’s right! Cuz in addition to going back to work today (after more than 2 long, glorious months spent in the garage, sorting through my grandma’s china, my other grandma’s “Arkansas Crystal” and… if you haven’t read this post yet, you should, cuz it really sums up my mom’s side of The Family…

(My daughter, “Mom, are you going anywhere with this?”) (Yes, I am.) (Seriously, that’s her new line, she kills me.)

I start grad school on Wednesday. Any school, any place, any time, they should just type a little note at the bottom of the first letter they send you, and that note should say:

plz bring your checkbook!

So I am taking out loans, and a Promissory Note is in order. Hmm. Can I promise what I’ll give them if we re-neg?

* Arkansas Crystal
* the “good slides”
* the 20-year-old truck. It’s paid for!
* and I’ll bake them some Mexican wedding cakes and a Chocolate Volcano Cake.

That should do it, don’t you think?

ttfn,

your friend,

wm