The Baking Bug

Well, I got bit by the baking bug again. Last weekend I went to North Carolina, and I spent all of Friday making a cake for my mom's boyfriend, and an apple pie just for my family to try. I must say, they liked it! It was pretty fun. The chocolate cake and the chocolate butter cream icing all came from Wilton's recipes. Although they are quite involved they are awesome! And I just gotta say, it was so wonderful using a stand mixer. My mom didn't want me to put the cake on a stand so that her boyfriend could take it home afterward, but it was the only plate-type thing in the cupboard where she told me to find the platter. I win! I loved it!!!!

After the cake, we all went out to Kanki (a Japanese Steak House in Raleigh). It was soo good! When we got home we cut the cake, and I tried to finish the pie. I decided to roll out the dough on the largest counter space. Normally that sounds perfect.... except the largest counter space happens to be over the dishwasher, which had just been run. If you don't make pie crust often, then it might be good to note that pie crust must be cold to roll right. So I ended up with a pie crust that wouldn't roll out for anything. But, fortunately, Mom's boyfriend happens to make pies quite frequently. So of course, he came to the rescue and fixed the crust by rolling it in-between two pieces of plastic wrap. After he went home and I finished scrubbing the cake out of the oven, I finally put the pie in. It came out around 11, and there was still a high demand from us ladies sitting around the living room chatting.

The following day I got to go to my great-grandma's 90th birthday party. It was nice. It was funny to hear what my grandpa and his sisters had to say about their momma. I now realize where I got mu completely stubborn, 'don't you tell me to do something any way other than how I'm doing it' attitude from my Great Grandmother Pearl. I think it went from her to my grandfather, to my mother and then it's stuck on me. I need to be less stubborn sometimes. It'd save me a lot of wasted effort. After listening to everyone talk, my cousin Emily (from the McKinney Skinny) sang some beautiful church songs. At first I thought it was kind of a strange choice for a birthday party, but then I realized that there would be no better birthday present than sharing your testimony with someone. I was so proud of her, and so was everyone else in the room.

For the next day and a half, I spent more time with my grandparents and with my dad. It was so fun. It was nice seeing my grandparents together again, and it was great getting to spend an afternoon with my dad (who informed me that he has dibbs on May and June of 2010 for his wedding, so I can't choose those months). I was supposed to be working on homework, but I have to say, it's so infrequent that I get to spend any time with my family, I figured that the essays could wait. It was so nice getting to see my extended family, especially at a time that I could really speak with them.

I've started to realize how different life is once you pass over the threshold between childhood and adulthood. Suddenly things become more important than they ever were. The world is no longer something that dictates who you are and what you're allowed to do, but becomes something that you can participate fully in and shape on your own. It's so fun jsut to sit around and chat. I gotta say, I love life.