Brown vs. Blond

With all the hoopla over Marissa Mayer's appointment as CEO of Yahoo a month ago, there have been countless commentaries about whether a pregnant woman should have been appointed to head a large corporation.  Again,  the "Mommy wars" reared it's ugly head again in the media, pitting working moms against stay at home ones...some question her parental responsibilities by abandoning her duties to go back to work, while others tout her as a work place role model.

Honestly, this comparison is just as absurd as the "who has more fun: blond or brunettes" comparison. It's really about appearances...what women portray out the outside, not what they truly are.

A recent study, written in Marketing Magazine, debunks all the media hype about one against the other, saying both working and stay-at-home Moms are not as different as you would think. It states that we all want whatever it takes for our children to succeed.

And I agree...and take it one step further.  I think there are more similarities than differences with all these women.  There is still guilt ("I wish I could spend more with the kids" vs. "I wish I could have more personal time").  We all do dishes after dinner, whether we made it from scratch or ordered in.  We all do laundry, whether it is work clothes or clothes covered in sand.  There will always be resentment, whether a woman resents choosing between her work load and her family, or resentment towards the general lack of respect for women who "only bake all day" as a stay at home Mom.

I think once and for all, we all should agree that we make our choices in the best interest of our own families. Period. What methodology works for one is different than the other and we ALL want nothing more than the best for our children and make choices that brings out the best of ourselves, whether it is earning an income or volunteering at the kids school, in order for our families to succeed. 

I wish there were more articles like the above one, highlighting the similarities between all these women, instead of differences.  Then maybe there will be less barriers, we can learn and work together to pool our resources...and take the best of both worlds.

Marble Brownies

(created by merging two recipes...

Blondies from How to Cook Everything, 
and using the cocoa from a marble cake technique).

Ingredients

• 8x8 inch baking pan
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla or 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of  chocolate chips (or nuts).
• 1 tbsp. cocoa.

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease the bottom and sides of a baking pan.
• Place the butter in a microwave-safe container and heat for 30 to 45 seconds on medium-high heat or until melted.
• Combine with brown sugar, egg, vanilla and water in a large mixing bowl. 
• Add flour until just mixed.
• Remove approximately 1/2 cup of batter into a separate bowl, and add cocoa and mix completely. Set aside.
• Mix chocolate chips into the vanilla batter
• Gently fold in the cocoa batter, until the batter resembles marble.
• Transfer to a greased baking pan, and press the batter into the pan firmly.
• Bake for approximately minutes, or until a dry crust forms over the top of the brownies.
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow the brownies to cool completely. Place it on a cooling rack, if desired, to speed cooling.
• Cut the brownies into 2- or 3-inch bars

Serve....and share.