It's So True

You know that saying "Living well is the best revenge"?

Well, it is so true.

Today, I got total validation of that.

Thanks for reading, Jackie.

p.s. comments are moderated for a reason, folks.

(and here's an article that might be interesting to people who think they're "anonymous" in cyberspace: http://aruljohn.com/info/howtofindipaddress/ . Happy day, all.)

Are You Afraid to Be Alone?

Someone asked me the other day what I liked best about living alone.
"Sole possession of the remote control?" (with a nod to Sandra Bullock)

While the conversation that ensued was thoroughly enjoyable, the question itself got me thinking.

When I was growing up, I knew a lot of girls who simply could not stand to be without a boyfriend. You know the type.

It was so freaking annoying. Honestly, it still is, only now they just get "married" over and over. And over. And over.

So for a lot of years, I sort of carried around this idea that the whole "afraid to be alone" mentality was pretty much a female thing.

Now, I'm not so sure.

From my observations, there are a lot of very emotionally/mentally/physically healthy women out here living alone and doing so with grace, style, vitality and peace.

The men? Not so much.

Why is that? Why is it that the so-called stronger ones are so collossally terrified of being on their own?

Not that I'm talking about anyone I was once married to.
Or anyone that was once married to my sister.
Or anyone that was once married to my best friend.
Or anyone that happens to be the father of one of my god-daughters.
Or any one of a number of the guys I used to work with in the PD.

So what is the deal?

Even the guys who do manage to set themselves up in a living space can't seem to do it with anything approaching the panache of the single women. A tv, a fridge, an (unmade) bed and a microwave oven. Oh, and don't forget that behemoth recliner! Done! Puh-leeze!
(note: don't believe me? Six words: "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy".)

Women I know have beautifully appointed rooms, welcomingly arranged furniture, eye-catching art... spaces that show who they are while being open to others. These rooms, these homes, are all about interaction, connectedness, sharing, conversations flowing from one to another... relationships.

Relationships with family, friends, lovers, art, beauty, intellectual pursuits, the world.

I guess when you have all of those relationships flourishing in your life you don't have to tremble at the mere hint of some solitude.

Because you enjoy your own company, in your relationship with the peace and quiet of your own space, your own thoughts, your own security.

Pretty much the idea of being a grown-up.

The Secret Brownie Recipe

O.k., here it is, for all the world to see (and make for themselves at home):

Capuccino White Chocolate Chip Brownies:

1 package Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix. Yep. A box mix.
Follow package directions, using the 3 egg version - and I always try to use Jumbo eggs because it does make a difference -- the brownies bake up really high and cakey.
Add 1/2 cup of General Foods International Coffee mix - I use French Vanilla Cafe because that's what I like to drink. (An alternate would be to boil some water, measure while it's still really hot and mix into that a rounded teaspoon of instant coffee, like Taster's Choice plain or flavored, and use that as the water in the recipe. Works just as well, and adds no more sugar.)
(As if that's your concern when making brownies. Um hmmm.)
Mix really well. Spread in well-greased 9x13 pan.
Sprinkle somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of white baking chips over the top of the brownies (if you mix them in and then pour they fall to the bottom of the pan and burn. Trust me.)
Bake at 325 if using a glass Pyrex pan, 350 for just about everything else for about 28 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Enjoy!!