{TWD} Great Grains Muffins . . . and some late-work

This past fall, Dudley and I had to answer a long list of questions for the fabulous lady who is helping us plan the wedding. Well, I had to answer most of the questions, but Dudley had to answer about 10 or so. Of course, I sat down and answered the questions as soon as I got the email (in October), Dudley emailed his questions between Christmas and the New Year. The questions were all either very practical (e.g. how do you envision your wedding day blah blah) or fun (lots of food questions). I had a good laugh when I read Dudley's response to the question:  "We're very interested in getting to know some things about your unique relationship." He began the second paragraph, "[Jessica] is an avid rule-follower . . ." I always forget that I am a total rule-following nerd until some rogue rule-breaker reminds me of my ways. 

Generally speaking, I'm not much for breaking the rules. I tend to follow the posted speed limits and such, and I hate "getting in trouble." Dudley gets ever-so-much annoyed with me because I'm very uptight about breaking rules that pertain to dogs and leashes. I hate it when people yell at me, and I dislike getting a ticket even more. Apparently die-hard rule followers aren't so much fun to spend time with, who'd have thought? The thought of double-parking makes me a little light-headed, and I don't cut the line. Ever. 

Is there a long line of people waiting to be my best friend yet? One year I was up in Estes Park with a really, really good friend of mine, Matthew. In terms of rule-following, Matthew is the anti-Jessica. I don't think he's ever followed a rule in his life. In fact, I'm not sure he even knows what rules are. We were finishing up an all-day hike and took the long, scenic way down. This put us about a mile from the car at the end of our day. Now, my thought was:  we've already hiked this far, what's another mile on a flat surface? Matthew immediately decided we needed to hitch a ride back to the car, and he told me, quite brusquely, to take off my baseball hat and make myself presentable because he was going to try the cars with girls, and it was my job to try the cars with boys. OK, seriously? All of this trouble for a measly mile? However, I learned quickly with Matthew that it's pointless to argue the point. Apparently he missed the memo about hitchhiking that we all got when we were little; doesn't he know how dangerous it is?!?

Thankfully, Matthew is not entirely without reason (he is my friend, after all), and he agreed that as long as we were hitchhiking a ride back to the car, we could sort of walk in the general direction of the car. The first few cars were girls, and no one was interested in giving Matthew and his lackluster companion a ride. We walked along and I thought 3 things:  1) Why did I go hiking with Matthew today? And darn Dudley, Phelps, and Jason for sleeping through this hike. 2) Dudley would never make me do this. 3) My mother would die if she knew I was doing this right now. I was torn from this reverie by Matthew yelling at me that the next car had guys in it and to "smile and stick out your thumb." I think I ended up sort of crooking my elbow and giving a "thumbs down" gesture; I'm not certain about the smile. I thought Matthew's head might actually separate from his body:  "You call that hitchhiking!?!?!?" Expletives ensued, along with a few choice words regarding my less-than-desireable traits as a companion at that moment. 

I hope you have a good picture of me with my pants hiked halfway up my chest and a good 6 inches of white athletic sock peeping from the top of my hiking boots in your mind. And should you happen to be interested, Matthew and I walked .2 miles to the shuttle stop, hopped on a safe ride to the car, and we all lived happily ever after. Matthew only stayed mad at me until he got to the car, and then he tranferred his wrath to his friends, who, he was sure were drinking beers and sleeping on the couch all day, missing the wonders of Estes Park (that would be hiking with Matthew, if you failed to catch that bit). 

I think this blog might be the only place where I make my own rules, and no one gets to interfere. I did not technically break any of the TWD rules, but I have missed posting the picks for the past couple of weeks, so I thought I might catch up. 

Great Grains Muffins:

Excellent, excellent, excellent muffins! These might be the best muffins I've ever had; they're right up my alley:  not too sweet, great flavor from the whole wheat flour and cornmeal. I used 1/2 Greek yogurt in place of the melted butter, and I added Craisins and sliced almonds. Check out Christine's blog, Happy Tummy, for the recipe. What a fantastic pick this week!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:

Another great pick. I made mini muffins and I thought they had a great texture. My only beef:  the lemon flavor is very subtle, and I'd like to amp it up. For what it's worth:  I froze some with the glaze on and I didn't have any issues. Thanks to Betsy of A Cup of Sweetness, for this pick.

Nutty Chocolatey Swirly Sour Cream Bundt Cake:

That's a mouthful. I think Mrs. M put it best when she said "that cake you made is very, very good." We love cakes like this in my family, and this was devoured by all of us in short fashion. I left out the raisins. I did have a little separation at the top, but it was tiny. I managed to snag one picture of the very last slice . . . and then I ate it! I'll definitely make this cake again. Jennifer of Cooking for Comfort, chose this recipe.