Tae-Ho

Last year, I chanced upon Nick Vujicic. This year, it is Tae-Ho.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=BfL2U0BJ48g&vq=medium#t=81

I find such stories incredibly inspiring.

In the midst of our worries and anxiety, we often forget how lucky we are to simply have all our five senses, all our fingers and toes, all our limbs.

I know that I often fail to appreciate these simple, seemingly ordinary blessings. These tiny peeks into other people's lives and challenges remind me how incredibly lucky I am.

I know it is only just March, and it isn't even Autumn yet, but let's count our blessings instead of sheep.

Have a good Holy Week ahead.

80 Years and Counting

Eighty years ago, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened.

We see this Google doodle in Google today.

What do you see in Google in your side of the world?

Grasshopper Bars

Mint. I love the taste of mint. Mint chocolate, mint ice cream, spearmint, peppermint, after dinner mints, creme de menthe. You name it, I love it.

(I have met a lot of people that don't really like mint flavoured food items. They say it is like eating toothpaste. To each his own ... and btw, if you don't want your share of mint chocolate, I'll take it.)

This love for mint has trickled down to the children. It is entirely possible that my love for mint is something I got from my parents. They would buy Andes Mints for us when they went off on trips abroad and those were ALWAYS special. You can imagine how happy I was when they came out with the Mint Parfait version which was mint-chocolate-mint instead of the more common chocolate-mint-chocolate.

Some time back I spotted some mint extract in the grocery. I hesitated but MyGirl went, "Get it, Mom! Get it!" and so it got added to the grocery cart.

Having mint extract in the spice rack enables us to make some things we'd not normally consider making. One of these out of the ordinary recipes is Grasshopper Bars.

Grasshopper Bars are essentially chocolate brownies with an added mint layer and chocolate topping. Calorie laden but super yummy.

We made a batch of Grasshopper Bars earlier this year and instead of greasing and flouring the baking pan (like the INSTRUCTIONS said), I used the home brand grease-proof baking paper. Although the bars were superb, the baking paper stuck to the brownies. MyGirl was sorely disappointed and made me promise we'd make them again (and not use the substandard baking paper).

When I asked her what she wanted to make on Saturday, she declared she wanted Grasshopper Bars. So that is what we baked yesterday since I did make a promise.

For yesterday's batch, I used the icing we had left over from last week's Texas Sheet Cake and added a few (not enough) drops of mint extract. On a normal basis, I would half the brownie recipe because I don't own a 13x9x2-inch baking pan and would use my trusty 9" square pan. I would also cut down on the powdered sugar and butter on the mint layer. That is self-explanatory. (A moment on your lips, a lifetime on your hips.)

Grasshopper bars? Cool.

GRASSHOPPER BARS

(Better Homes and Garden recipe)

Makes 36 bars

Brownies :

4 squares (4 oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1 c margarine or butter, softened

2 c granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 t vanilla

1 c all purpose flour

1 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Mint Layer :

4 T margarine or butter, softened

2 c sifted powdered sugar

1 t peppermint flavoring

4 drops green food coloring

1 to 2 T milk

Topping :

2/3 c semi-sweet chocolate pieces

6 T margarine or butter

2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Set aside.

To make brownies : In a large mixing bowl, beat together the melted unsweetened chocolate, 1 c margarine or butter, granulated sugar, eggs and 2 t vanilla with an electric mixer until combined. Stir in flour and walnuts or pecans.

Spread the brownie batter in the prepared baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center is set. Cool the brownies in the pan on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, to make the mint layer : In a small mixing bowl using the electric mixer, beat together the 4 T softened margarine or butter, the powdered sugar, peppermint flavoring and green food coloring. Add enough milk to make the mixture a spreading consistency.

Spread the mint layer over the cooled brownies. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the topping : In the top of a double boiler, melt the semi-sweet chocolate pieces, the 6 T margarine or butter and 2 t vanilla, stirring frequently. Remove the double boiler from the heat and let the topping cool slightly.

Carefully spread the cooled topping over the chilled mint layer. Let the bars stand for 1 hour. Cut into 36 (2 x 1 1/2-inch bars).

More Bus Lessons

Aside from providing enough time for the bus ride to school, one of the other lessons GI learned on his not quite first day at Uni was to bring a sweater or a jacket when he goes to school. Even if it warm when he leaves the house, it could be chilly in the bus and GI didn't bring anything to keep him warm on that fateful 3-hour bus ride to the city.

So on Wednesday 29 February, my warmly-clad GI took one of the M61 buses to the city two hours before his 2pm class.

Yes, he was early. Yes, he was warm. But oh no, he lost his wallet on the bus!

GI called MacGyver who advised him to report his debit card as lost. MacGyver gave me a call to relay the news.

I wondered whether GI had money to get home. I wondered if he was all right.

I wondered what else we'd need to report as lost.

I wondered whether he'd get his wallet back.

Lost and found.

We were sure of the LOST part. MacGyver called the bus company, reported the lost wallet, gave the location and time GI rode the bus, and provided some contact details. Our question was whether we'd get to the FOUND part.

"Have a little faith," MacGyver said. "We'll see."

I'd like to think that I was optimistic that the wallet would be returned. People here are generally honest. (They even have a commercial about people's honesty here.) MacGyver was told that they would not know whether the wallet was surrendered to the bus driver until the buses returned to the depot at end of day.

When I got home that evening, I was happy to see GI home safely. He was quite calm about the whole thing. He told me that his wallet must have slipped out of his pocket during the trip without him noticing. (The hazards of skinny jeans, you know.) He said he is adding 'check that you haven't left anything on the bus before getting off' to his list of lessons learned.

I wish he'd learned that lesson without having to go through processes of losing something first.

Anyway, by the next morning, we got three things from this experience :

1. New lesson learned

2. GI's wallet back

3. Renewed faith in humanity

[Bless that soul who picked up GI's wallet and gave it to the bus driver.]

Not Quite the First Day at Uni

27 February 2012, Monday

It was a most anticipated event. GI's first day at uni. He's had his time table for weeks. He'd packed away his year 12 papers. He'd beefed up his wardrobe a little. I even made sure I got him the concession travel ten bus ticket. With his lab classes starting next week, instead of this week, he only had one lecture class to attend from 6-7:30 pm. We had agreed that I'd meet him at his campus after class and we'd take the bus home together. Any other week after this would mean he'd be heading home at 9pm on Monday nights.

GI took the bus from our place at 4:40pm. He expected the ride to take about an hour and he'd have at least 15 minutes to spare to get to his first and only class. Thirty minutes into the bus ride, he checked in with MacGyver to say that he figured he was doing good time and wouldn't be late. Unfortunately soon after than, traffic was at a stand still and the bus was at the same spot (or literally moving at snail's pace) for the next two hours!

He sent me a text message before 6pm to say he believed there was an accident because he was only halfway to the city. We had naturally concluded that there was no way he could make it his class on time.

At 7:20pm, he called to say that he was on the Harbour Bridge. I told him we'd meet at the Town Hall stop which was right across my office building. By the time we met each other, he'd been on the bus for about three hours, and needless to say, he'd missed his class.

We walked around for a while because GI didn't want to go from one bus ride to another. I offered to treat him out for dinner but he settled for large fries from McDonald's.

I wanted to give him a quick tour of the Queen Victoria Building but by then the giant clock had rang eight times. It was 8pm. All the stores were closed, the stairwell was blocked and the elevators were off.

I asked GI if he needed to go for a pit stop before heading home but he said that he had gone before he left home. (Oh, to be young and to have a strong bladder. Those were the days. Yes, it's entirely possible that those days were the days that GI could still enter the Ladies Room with me.)

How fast time flies.

I can still remember the 5-year old GI crying when I arrived late at Don Bosco to pick him up because they had been dismissed early. Now he's all of 18 and going off to college.

We headed for home, me and my not-so-baby GI, on his not quite first day at uni.

[Did I mention that the first thing he showed me when we met at the city was that he'd had his left ear pierced? So it begins .... ]