Confessions of a Newlywed Housewife

Eight short months of marriage have taught me one absolute truth about myself and my culinary skill...

I cannot bake.

Can I cook? Absolutely. No matter the number of ingredients, no recipe is too daunting. Meals I've made have elicited responses anywhere from "fine" to "scrumptous, let's eat this every night, I can't get enough" from my tried and true taste-tester, Mr. Parker Mangum. It shouldn't be a big surprise; I'm Italian! Cooking runs in my veins. I spent my childhood in the kitchen.

When it comes to making treats, however, I apparently need to stick to packaged brownie mixes and Oreos. Baking is messy, frustrating, and always ends up being an irritating and belittling lesson in patience. Let's be serious people, what difference does 1/4 of a teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon REALLY make? 

Does this make me a failure as a wife? Quite possibly. I've even ruined Jell-O. JELL-O! Sadly, the list doesn't end there. Guess who can't make a right-off-the-back-of-the-bag chocolate chip cookie recipe? Let me introduce myself... The world's worst chocolate chip cookie baker.

Here's the most recent proof:

You're thinking, "Wow, how can you possibly ruin something so simple?"

I KNOW. Yet each batch was somehow exponentially worse than the one before.

Mom, maybe someday I'll live up to the confectioner's side of our Italian heritage...

But, please, don't hold your breath.

The Curt Schilling of Church Basketball

Game 6 ALCS 2004: Red Sox v. Yankees

Despite recent ankle tendon stabilization surgery, Curt Schilling stayed in the game while blood oozed through his sutures. He led the Red Sox to a win, forced a Game 7, and took the team to the World Series. Way to take one for the team.

Church Basketball August 3, 2010

Parker Mangum refused to leave a heated church basketball game this past Tuesday evening though he developed and ruptured multiple large blisters on both feet. 

After pulling out the victory and hobbling up four flights of stairs to our apartment, he collapsed.

Due to the hour (as it was nearing midnight), I had limited supplies available to me, thus his triage bandages were not my most impressive construction.

Over the last few days, his prognosis has certainly improved. Fortunately, he has a medically inclined wife to wash and wrap his feet and a job that requires he wear comfortable athletic shoes to work. He is expected to make a full recovery!