Julie & Julia

Wow. Has anyone read Julie and Julia ? If yes, then I congratulate you. If not, then you have missed out dearly. Yes, it may be slightly offensive because of the vulgarity of the language but it is a true gem. I read it and laughed out loud at times, blushed at others, and felt like I could cry right along with Julie Powell. It also made me appreciate my cat more.

Just this evening I watched the movie of this book. I must say, I have been (yet again) lifted in spirit by the J-girls. In the book, I preferred the times of talk concerning Julie and Eric; in the movie, my eyes were searching for the presence of Paul, and ultimately, Julia Child. I am inspired by this entire project-the writer coming up through the dust that she thought had eternally settled, the woman coming into a kitchen (in none other than THE Cordon Bleu) full of men, and the triumph of love. Yes, I said it: The Triumph Of Love.

Cliche, yes. True? Still a "oui". The many themes found throughout are uplifting. I want to finish my book now. I want to go into the kitchen and whip up (no pun intended, cook-y folks) a souffle. But most of all, I want to smile. I feel like Julia Child's spirit has invaded my put-down zone and stuffed it with happiness and the ability to laugh at one's "mistakes". I ask you, what is a mistake? Truly, does one have an accurate description? I think not.

This evening, after a delicious dinner of some wonderful white bean chicken chili (or something), I threw together a batch of triple chocolate brownies. Easy enough, or so I thought. I was distracted by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone , what can I say? Typical, I forgot to set the timer so I was approximately five minutes off for the next hour. Then, when I went to stab the innocent desert with a toothpick, I somehow "forgot" to put on a heat resistant glove (who has the time for such things?) and caressed my sensitive hand with a nice swat of heat.

I chided myself for my lack of thought, then went on with my life. During a break in the movie, I went into the kitchen to cut the brownies. I thought the difficult part was over, but oh, how I was wrong! I went to slide the knife under the first brownie when the unthinkable happened-it crumbled into a gooey pile of undecipherable desert. I had to scoop a "brownie" up and mold it onto the paper towel (my sorry attempt to save trees). I deemed it Ugly Cake.

The entire event was serenaded by my Julia Child Intoxicated Laughter. I would slop it up, giggle softly, and imagine just what Child would have been saying had she been there to witness my sorry attempt to save my creation. It was joyous! I felt as if I had really accomplished something.

My lesson-learned of the day is this: no matter what, don't let the smile get wiped from your face because once it is, the world doesn't look so bright. Keep smiling everyone! Have a good day!