stick to what you know...

I haven't worked a Friday in...I think a couple of years? I'm lucky like that, you know. Of course, it's my own choice; I don't get paid on salary, so when I don't work, I don't get paid. But...Fridays off are totally awesome.

And this is why:

Friday is My Day. I get to do whatever the heck I want. It's a 3-day weekend every.single.week. I know you're furrowing your brow in annoyance. And really, I'm not trying to, like, rub it in. I'm just really, really thankful for my Fridays off.

They're not always full of fun, you know. Honestly, I typically use Friday to get stuff done that I, perhaps, neglect during the week. On Friday, I usually wax domestic, whether I want to or not: clean the house, get groceries, throw some laundry in the wash, paint my toenails. You get the picture.

But some Fridays are more domestic than others. Take yesterday, for instance. Yesterday I baked. Isn't that a stellar thought? I think it's essential that you know that the dessert section in my recipe box is the fattest section; I have more dessert recipes than I do main dishes, soups/stews, salads, and miscellaneous COMBINED. (Which is curious, really, because I mostly prefer salty to sweet, but that's another story I think.) Don't you love me more knowing that my dessert section is so full? :)

In the morning I made peanut butter brownies for Brooker's fun little luncheon today. Because, did you know? She loves peanut butter more than any other thing on this Earth. And do you know what else? Chocolate and peanut butter is the best combination I can think of off the top of my head. (Besides chips and salsa. See? I told you I prefer salty to sweet.)

I also made these tasty little brookie things. (Recipe found here.) I saw this recipe last week sometime and fell in love just reading the name of the dessert and looking at the pictures. (Isn't brookie a precious name for the brownie/cookie combo though?!) Last night I went to a game night at Jeanna's, and I thought I'd bring some brookies along to keep us company. So whilst I was out running errands anyway, I thought I'd stop by the store and purchase a few items in order to make this delicious little treat.

When I got home, I finally looked at the directions on how to make said brookies; it's a more involved recipe than I thought it'd be in looking at the ingredients alone. (Not that they were difficult to make; just took time.) They turned out okay, but let's just say they didn't look picture-perfect, I slightly over-baked some of them, and people didn't exactly fight each other off for the last...several. I have a gall0n-sized ZipLock bag full of the little monsters in my kitchen right now. I need to remember this one lesson (that I've technically learned several times over but never seem to remember until it's too late once again): Quit making treats for others before you've mastered the recipe, Gina!

Brookie eating a brookie...

At least the peanut butter brownies turned out perfect. (They are a perfect food. And the recipe's easy too; 2 of everything.) Seriously, I got almost a million compliments on those bad boys.

The perfect food. (As long as you don't look at calories and stuff. Which I don't.)

Part of the reason I wanted to be domestic yesterday is because I got an e-vite to my 10 year high school reunion Thursday evening. I've known it's coming; I know what year it is and I can do the math. But somehow it was a slap in the face, you know? Forced me to analyze my life; forced me to realize (again) that I'm not even close to where I thought I'd be 10 years outside of high school (married with a small batch of children).

It's not that I'm not happy to be where I am right now, please know this. I love my job. I have stellar friends. I get to do fun stuff and go fun places (mostly in the summer). I've got a good life. I think I baked yesterday because I was somehow making a point to myself that I don't need a family in order to be domestic. Does that make sense? Oh, and also, baking is kind of therapeutic.

Anyway...that was my Friday. How was yours?