I Will Make It Up to You
Did you ever make up something about yourself to get somebody to like you? Namely a member of the opposite sex? I would NEVER do such a thing. That would be just plain wrong.
I would never pretend to be a natural blond. I would never pretend to be a responsible law student who just so happens to spend weekends studying in the same section of the library as you do. I would never pretend to enjoy watching sports, using Sportscenter as my main news source or showing you my Sports Illustrated “Letters to the Editor” like appearing in national sports media was something I did every day.
Never on our first date. Or our second.
Or pretty much the entire length of our relationship…until we got married.
Never.
Yesterday morning, I complained in a not-very-kind way to Pea Daddy about having to sit through a Blazer game for the second night in the row and Game 1 of the World Series. And I threw every card I could think of at him.
“But I’ve been blogging during the day so we can hang out at night!”
“But you said your #1 way to feel loved was by spending time together!”
“Butt…I’ve got on your favorite yoga pants. And I can slide an Oreo down my face and eat it!”
Still, he left for work and we were both pretty annoyed with each other. As I thought about it, though, I realized part of Pea Daddy falling in love with me probably had to do with my willingness to watch sports with him. To throw in random sports trivia about Mike Hampton’s ERA. To beat him at H-O-R-S-E. (That’s right…”Who’s your Mommy?”)
To now hold it against him that he is basically pursuing what I lead him to believe was a shared interest, well, that would be just plain wrong.
I definitely had some making up to do.
Brown Sugar Bars
Makes 1 8×8 pan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 pan with cooking spray.In a small saucepan, melt the margarine.
Turn off the heat, add the brown sugar and applesauce and stir until smooth.
Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt, and add to the brown sugar mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and press in the chocolate chips or nuts, if using.
Bake for 20-23 minutes.
Let cool before cutting and serving.
So Pea Daddy. I’m sorry. I haven’t been a very good sport.
In other words,
I stink.
So big to be able to admit when you’ve done something wrong! And I STINKIN’ love that skunk costume! Think they make it in an extra-large adult size?!
The fact that Pea Daddy brought me flowers made it easier to admit my wrongs too.
Good man!!
Aww.. everyone’s been there. I think it’s sweet that you can reflect by yourself and realize out of a squabble how much you love your husband. I do that a lot and think it’s a good way to stop holding grudges or being annoyed.
brown sugar bars look yummy too:)
Andy and I have sports-related arguments all the time. Ugh. It’s so frustrating because I want to spend time with him but I don’t want to tear him away from something he loves so much. I used to talk to him about sports more often when I was trying to get him to fall in love with me so it’s only far that I share him with ESPN every now and again. But Andy has a raw deal, I never make him cookies or bars like that! I better get to it. You’re a good wife, MP.
P.S. The little stinker is too good!
You’re full of it. I saw the pumpkin cheesecake you made him last night.
I think the thing which I have come to realise that I LOVE about your blog is that you write about life. Of course there are elements that you don’t share with us, as that is how it should be. But you admit where you’re messed up, when you’re sad, happy and that you can slide and oreo down your face. Relationships have to be damn hard work, esp. with two kids, etc. But the most important thing is showing grace, seeking forgiveness and realising why you fell in love with someone from the beginning. Thank you for writing this, because I know that there are heaps of people in relationships that become jaded and miss the beauty that they can bring because they aren’t willing to reflect, admit, work through it and move one. You’re setting an example for your girls, and a good one at that.
Thank you, Mish. I am touched. Everything worth having in life takes hard work. But the payoff is so great.
I just told Ben I am so glad he doesn’t watch sports. Your blog reminded me to appreciate him today
you are so cute. your blonde hair….thats another thing. and guess what came in the mail todayyyyyy!!!!
delicious. i only wish you hadnt written kyles name on the card. im going to be the cookie nazi.
goooo giants!!!!!!!!!
I hope my future-wife pretends she likes skiing so when we are married and i find out she really doesn’t, i can hold it against her and hold out for some brown sugar-esque bars. Then again, that would also imply that she will be a fantastic vegan baker. I think my standards need work.
Bring your kids to my house during Halloween in that skunk costume, they can have my whole basket of candies!! So freaking adorable!
you’re a better woman than i to even THINK of watching sports with your hubs. for me, I could never even fake it that I cared so i just let him go to the sports bar and do his thing. I actually blogged about this last week..that I used to resent Scott for watching the Bears, that he’d rather hang out watching men tackle each other than hang out w/ me….and i realize it’s his 3 hrs a week of total chill time, and now, after a decade ++ of being together, I finally get that
it recharges him and it’s his outlet.
i would love to have a brown sugar bar!!
You and Pea Daddy have such an open relationship which is why I think it works so well. The two of you truly take on the term, “Two Peas in a Pod!”
those blondies look delish! it’s funny, my husband always jokes about how i’d watch sportscenter with him all the time when we first started dating…. oops!
Going after an English grad student, I never had to pretend to be interested in sports
But sometimes I had to pretend to be interested in things like Rhetoric and Heidegger and irony. Ugh.
You’re right – P. Daddy probably did fall in love (partly) because you were a sports lover…. or at least he thought you were. But who can deny the yoga pants?
Brown sugar and chocolate is always a good way to make up to someone, right? YUM!
I have a friend who searched high and low for that skunk costume. LOL
I used to watch scary/suspenseful movies with my boyfriend, hate them, then go to my dorm room to sleep and stay up with nightmares! He was shocked that I could fall asleep during “Saving Private Ryan” but he didn’t realize that I was so disturbed that I closed my eyes (and it was freshman year, so of course I had sleep debt and drifted off!)
When we got married, I pretty much immediately axed the scary movies. He was pissed. I heard about it for like 1.5 years in every fight. Finally, we reached a compromise–I’ll watch SOME suspenseful movies I wouldn’t normally watch (like “The Town”) but only if they have redeeming qualities (like a good story instead of just gratuitous violence/gore.) It’s worked pretty well, even though he is still insisting that we don’t see enough movies because there’s not enough to qualify. I told him to take up a filmmaking or producing career to change the problem, but I think he’s going to stick to youth ministry!
I keep up with sports for my husband even though I’m not interested, but he never asks me to sit through televised games (only live ones) so I can’t fully share your pain. I do, however, listen to the full rundown of his fantasy football teams on a weekly basis. However, I’ve turned this into a positive and know LOVE looking up how his players did so I can surprise him by knowing something. He always gets ridiculously excited if I fact drop about one of his players…
Oh man. You are a GOOOD wife.
I ditto your comment Mama Pea!
Lulu looks so cute in that last picture!
I greatly admire your ability to see where you may have been wrong and make it right. I think so many people are wrong about things, but their pride gets in the way of them apologizing and they just stick to their guns. I think the ability to admit when we’re wrong is one of the marks of a good relationship. And brown sugar bars never hurt either.
They look delicious!
I like the blonde hair! Your baked goods always look fantastic!
We don’t have the sports issues anymore. We had more of them when we were dating, but with my husband traveling for the last 12 years he was never home to argue with!
He quit his job 3 weeks ago so we will see…hahaha! He’s home now, so that may change.
this is so sweet…we all change in marriage but i think it’s cool you recognized that he likes to watch sports with you
Haha, love the close of this post. I’m sure the bars more than made up for it.
So true. Isn’t it funny how we are willing to do ANYTHING to spend time with them while dating, but then once married it just dosen’t seem as fun!
Your bars look wonderful! A perfect peace offering. Have a great weekend
Aw! That was a sweet post. And Lulu is toooo cute!
I am rooting for the Blazers and all, but if we don’t have to have the TV turned to the game and also be in the other room checking their stats on the computer, that would be fine by me.
You forgot “or on the iPhone while we are trying to have a conversation about what kind of cupcakes to bake for the Harvest Party.” Hypothetically speaking, of course.
At least the World Series games have been high scoring and dramatic!!!! (I say this as a bandwagon Giants fan from SF – I have never watched so much baseball in my life.)
I was more worried about how having the WS in SF would effect my trip. So selfish, I am.
I love that you were able to admit that you were wrong in such a loving way.
Hunni and I did this to each other and we laugh about it now but it was annoying the first few years we were married.
Seriously, if I had a dime for every time I’ve been mean to my Fiance…unfortunately, I don’t have your baking skills to make up for it. Sometimes its easier to hurt the ones we love the most – a concept that I really don’t understand.
Lulu in a skunk costume – now that makes perfect cute sense
She’s darling!
She’s actually going as Sleeping Beauty. But somehow we were just skunks yesterday.
I think we hurt the ones we love the most because we aren’t afraid to be as ugly as we want to with them and we know they’ll still love us. It’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?
I had a friend dress up as a skunk (or pepe le pew? not sure) and she went around spraying people in that Paris Hilton perfume. that, my friend, stinks.
You gotta share with me your skills at HORSE. The farthest I got is H-O, I think its a sign.
Ahh, if only teaching my H-O-R-S-E skills were that easy. Can Michelangelo teach someone how to paint? I think not.
To dang cute! I like to make a favorite dinner to make up for when I’m sorry. Don’t know how much I would be willing to have to watch sports though.
My sweetie and I don’t have sports arguments, but we do have video game arguments. I don’t know why…it’s not like I ensnared him by cutely snuggling on the couch while pretending to be grossly absorbed in Twilight Princess for hours or anything :p
I think the moment I won my bf’s heart was when he, his brother, and his father were all trying to remember the Giants football player who got hurt in the last game, and from the other room, I yell, “Jeremy Shockey guys.”
I am actually a sports convert though. No faking here. My family doesn’t know where the new me came from.
I’m deleting your comment so Pea Daddy doesn’t get any false hope…
Ah hahahaha. Sounds SOOOO familiar. Maybe I should be baking?
Aww, you are so sweet!
These kinds of things come up once in awhile for us, but I typically just make myself busy on the computer..or if I’m blogging, he gets in plays video games or watches shows I don’t watch. Love the last part…”I stink.” The costume is adorable!
I missed Grey’s Anatomy the other night due to sports.
Correction, I’ve missed the last 2 weeks of Grey’s because of sports. I feel your pain!! Very sweet of you to bake for him, no pun intended! 
omgomgomg I had the most delicious vegan brownie type thing that tasted like straight brown sugar….much as I imagine this will taste. OH YUM.
I LOVE the skunk costume!
I know exactly how you feel! My husband is obsessed with sports and while I used to enjoy watching it before (sometimes) I am interested in so many other things now that I don’t really want to spend my time doing that (especially not at the frequency he does). But my husband has not changed a bit, which in some ways annoys me and in others I am totally grateful for. Hopefully we can all find a happy medium
Loving the old-school photos of you two
I had the opposite. Chris faked like he wasn’t interested in sports so I’d fall in love with him. If he had been as into sports then as he is now, it might have been a dealbreaker. He better start making me some cookies.
Lulu as skunk is sooo cute!
Ahh, see he was the con man. You’ve got a good one, Bitt.
Oh I can so relate to the sports arguments…I love that you were able to work things out. The best part is that you wrote this post to him (in a way) and he gave you flowers. I absolutely love it..
Now if only things could go that well in our household – I swear Chloe’s first word is going to be an f-bomb!
You need a Swear Jar!!!
I had no idea you live (lived?) in Seattle!!!!! I do too! Well, Everett/Mukilteo…. it’s just so strange to see a blogger from Seattle…. when I’m reading all of these blogs from peeps in Flordia and all sorts of places far away…. and warm…. and sunny….COOL! yeuh mama pea, representin the PNW– gotta love it
With love from WA,
Alyssa
ps- those bars look sinfully delicious! i’ll have to try them!
I’m not from Seattle (we’re in Oregon), but we don’t have our own MLB team. I almost wish we did to spare me 6 hours in the car… But yes, PNW represent!
Just the other day we were at Trader Joe’s and I had a box of frozen Brown Sugar bars in my hand. Ultimately, I put them back in the freezer, so I thank you for this recipe! I think I’ll make them this weekend.
They were the inspiration for this recipe! I’ve never had them, but my friend Lara says they are to die for!
I like the “Clabber Girl”!
Also, all your recipes look delicious. Do you come up with most of them yourself? Just by looking at ingredients?? I really want to make these..
Yup, I just kind of wing it most of the time or I’ll tweak non-vegan recipes!
Hahahaha! I think many of us can relate to you!
Maybe I should bake some brown sugar bars!
Ana
What a CUTE costume !!
I know what I am going to “request” in your next giveaway! Yummy!
HAHA the skunk costume is adorable!!! Enjoy your weekend
LOVE the skunk costume!!! how cute!
To be sure, there ARE an awful lot of Blazer games. I have lost my husband until next Baseball Season. I don’t think he misses a single football or basketball game. I just get a LOT of ME time
That skunk costume is amazing! And I think your baking makes up for your change in heart about sports!
Luckily I have always loved sports ; ) Although I do not like watching sports on TV, maybe the last quarter or inning or something, but not the whole thing.
I remember one day when Lori’s boyfriend was living with us, and he had GOLF on the whole time!!! I was about to die, haha
I know Pea Daddy loved your sweet treat ; ) Hope you all have a great halloween weekend!
Oh Lawdy! Golf is the WORST. That would have been a deal breaker. Lori’s a better woman than I.
looks GREAT! And love as they say goes thorugh the tummy
Your girls are the cutest. So the bars were amazing but I have to say the first batch didn’t turn out so well. You had 2C of brown sugar. I questioned the 2C of sugar but I have tried many of your recipes in the past and they all turned out great so I decided to give it a try. Yeah they were a complete mess. Anyway. I reduced it to 1/2C and my family LOVED THEM!!! AMAZING COOKIES with the right amount of sugar.
Love your blog,
Lin
Wow, I’m sorry you weren’t happy with the recipe. I’ve had at least three other people make these and say they were fantastic as written. Maybe it’s a matter of taste?
So it is 2C of brown Sugar? Mine turned into more of a toffee like consistency and cooked for about an hour before they would even set up. I loved the bars after reducing and just figured it was a typo.
You have come up with some great recipes and my family and I have enjoyed trying them all.
If you check out this post, Tina’s friend made the bars without issue
http://carrotsncake.com/2010/10/gnocchi-gnocchi-anyone-home.html
I just made these tonight and they turned out perfect! I did just use 1 c of brown sugar simply because I’m trying to lose some baby weight from my sweet 5 month old.
But they cooked perfect and all my boys loved them!
Fantastic!!!
As long as my significant other watches hockey, I’m okay with the sports. Of course, that assumes I’ll ever have a significant other…le sigh. At least I can bake myself some of those delicious bars and not have to share them with anyone, being perpetually single and all.
The rumors are true! Hooray! I can’t wait to make these puppies
Ahh Mama Pea these look so yum! I am going to make these for my BF’s family christmas dinner! I am not a baker by any means so wish me luck !!